Ever After (HIATUS)
by Likithak
Summary: STORY ON HOLD. Olivia Pope walks into her office one day to see that the new CEO is the same man who saved her life a year ago. It's not just the age-gap and the ring on his finger that's making her apprehensive about falling for him, but also the gangster past he carries.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is written under the name "SILVERFOX" with different characters Eric and Amelia on my Wattpad account.** **I thought, it could be an olitz story too. Hope you guys enjoy.**

 **Warning: substance abuse, themes of mental illness, sexual asault. If you're not comfortable reading this, don't.**

Olivia sat at her desk as usual. Her brown eyes, were glued to the computer screen in front of her as she read the draft of an article to be published.

26 year old Olivia Pope worked in the Marketing Department of Grant Industries. She has been working here for about six months and is currently in the best phase of her life, career wise. Everything else was, what do you say, stable.

Just as she was reaching the end of the article, somebody peeped into her cubicle startling her.

"Jeez. Jake!" She says, her mouth slightly open and her nostrils flared.

"Relax." He says laughing.

Jake Ballard is Olivia's co-worker and also an annoying flirt. Olivia ignored him in the beginning, but is now slightly warming upto him as a friend.

"Get up, we're all to go to the conference room up. Boss has a new announcement. Rumour is he's finally making his son the CEO" Jake says rolling his eyes.

"He has a son?" She wonders and debates whether she should give in and engage in office gossip,because Olivia has no clue what's happening around her in her office.

"We? I thought only senior employees went to these things" Olivia asks confused.

"I have no idea. Stacy told all of us to be there in 10 mins"

Stacy Becker was the head of their Marketing Department. She was a total pain in the ass. No to be rude but she was going through a divorce, and was putting out her frustrations on her employees.

"Alright then, you get going. I'll follow you" Olivia says getting up from her chair but her eyes still reading the article in a rush.

"Okay, see you there" says Jake as he leaves.

Olivia opens her hair which was previously tied in a low knot, and brushes her hair with her fingers although her whole focus is on the computer. She reads the last line frantically and hits send on the screen and breathes out in relief.

Looking at the clock ahead, she rushes to open her bag to find her pocket mirror and sees if she looks okay. She applies a coat of lipstick and sticks her hair behind her ear on one side and then walks out after being satisfied with the way she looks.

She reaches the elevators and sees all are occupied and realises that she's late and that she should've been there in the conference room by now. She thinks about going back but then if Stacy notices her absence she'll be in trouble and so waits. She thinks about climbing the stairs but she's in no way climbing eleven flights of stairs.

The elevator finally dings and she gets in and the journey up to the floor seems to take a lifetime. Once it reaches the concerned floor, she practically jumps out of it and strides fast to the conference room.

She notices nobody outside and realises everybody's already inside and it would be really awkward to enter now, but with no other choice, she slowly pushes the door open. A few heads turn back but not enough to cause her embarrassment. She spots Jake and immediately walks with her head down to where he's standing, conscious not to bring any attention to herself.

Jake turns around and smiles at her, putting her at ease.

Olivia sees Stacy staring at her.

"You're late" she mouthes in a whisper.

"Sorry" Olivia says nervously.

After a few seconds she finally calms down, the adrenaline fades away and she begins to notice her surroundings. As she looked around, a certain pair of blue eyes catch her attention and surprisingly it takes her few seconds to realise who that person is.

She nervously looks away before looking back, only to find those eyes staring at her, this time with more curiosity. Olivia feels strange and looks away but can't help herself from looking at him again. Only, this time his attention wasn't on her. She felt a weird mix of relief and disappointment, which disappeared as soon as their boss finally started to speak.

"I thank all of you for leaving your important work behind and coming up here for a few minutes." The old man began to speak.

"I don't believe in speeches and so I will get right to the point"

"As you know, Fitzgerald Grant is my son." He says gesturing to a tall, handsome man standing next to him.

Fitzgerald Grant. Olivia says in her head before looking into his blue eyes again. How come, she had never seen him here before? She wondered as her thoughts were interrupted again.

"You may have heard, you may have speculated. And I'm only here to confirm that. From now on, my son is the sole owner and CEO of Grant Industries." He says before turning to his son and enveloping him in a hug.

The whole room erupts in cheers and congratulations. Olivia too joins them in clapping, all the while looking at Fitzgerald was no denying that he wasn't good-looking. That would be an understatement. He was probably the most good-looking person she'd seen in her life. She almost felt guilty for not thinking about her boyfriend even once before saying that statement in her head, but it was the truth. No denying.

She saw him move forward and the room became silent.

"Thank you" He begins."Thank you all for being here. Grant Industries has been a pioneer in innovation under my father's guidance for the last 40 years and I'm here to further the legacy that he leaves behind today. It's an honour to head this company and be among all of the hardworking people who continue to make the company better, day after day." He says and gives her a look and at this point Olivia's really confused if he's staring at her or she's hallucinating all this.

Her thoughts are interrupted when she sees a tall,slim brunette walk upto him and kiss him on the lips. He seemed surprised but doesn't make it very apparent. Of course, he's married, Olivia thinks as she notices the ring on his finger.

She sees him pull back from his wife and give his wife a tight lipped smile.

The room fills with more clapping and appreciation and congratulations before she notices his eyes on her, again.

And at this point, she's pretty sure she's hallucinating.


	2. Chapter 2

**Olivia has a terrible past in this story, and she's been depressed ever since a certain event that happened in her life. There are going to be themes of depression, suicidal thoughts,sexual assault, drug use etc so if you're sensitive to those themes, I suggest you not to read it.**

A week has passed since the company got their new CEO. Everything has been the same and thankfully there were no changes with the staff. Some of the newly joined employees worried if they would cut the staff or something like that.

Olivia stared out at the city from her balcony. She sat on the floor of the balcony with a cigarette in between her index and middle finger. A bottle of unfinished vodka sat beside her silently. It's been a year since she shifted to the city and she still felt like she was new to everything here. She didn't feel like she belonged, maybe that's why she didn't have many friends or go out much. She lived with her boyfriend in an affordable apartment near her office that she truly was very lucky to find.

As her cigarette burned out, she decided to go inside and go to , her boyfriend wasn't back from work and it was already 10PM. So she guessed he would be late today and there was no point staying up waiting for him.

She went to bed with a heavy head, the alcohol did the trick, she thought. She hated feeling alone or the silence, so she got up to switch on the tv in the living room and turned up the volume to the point where it felt like someone was in the house with her. This was what she did routinely when she was alone. Sometimes, she would turn on the television while doing her work or anything because she hated the silence. The more silence surrounded her, the more she could hear her thoughts.

She went back to bed and brought herself in a fetal position trying to bring her extremities closer, trying to feel... _safe. Maybe._ Sleep took over her senses pretty fast, and she was glad.

Next morning, she woke up earlier than usual to see that the space next to her was empty. She woke up feeling exhausted, and immediately walked to the living room only to find Richard sleeping uncomfortably on the couch, _again._

She sighed out of frustration as she walked to the kitchen and started the coffee machine. After working for months at her new job that paid her comfortably, the first thing she bought herself was a coffee machine.

She went to the washroom and brushed her teeth and washed her face and completed her normal routine in the morning. She walked back to grab her cup of coffee, she took a cigarette out of a pack and walked out to the balcony with her lighter and an ashtray.

She sat down and looked at the view ahead. No matter what, she never got tried of the skyline. The tall buildings that seemed to go on forever were her source of inspiration, _long ago._ Now she sat there and wondered whether those tall buildings ever got lonely.

Olivia closed her eyes to took another puff of her cigarette, letting the smoke flood her throat and finding a let go in that moment. She was never a smoker. She was one of those girls who swore to never go "bad stuff" and today here she is, a completely different person than she thought she would be.

She heard a movement behind her and peeped in to see Richard walking around the house in his boxers and a thin white shirt. His hair was messy, his sunken eyes didn't seem to brighten up when they met her's. Olivia stubbed her cigarette and got up and walked upto him. He was all the friends or family she had here. Richard smiled lightly seeing her but walked away to the kitchen before she could give him a hug, leaving her disappointed.

"You were drinking?" He asked turning back to face her showing the bottle of vodka in his other hand.

Olivia bit her lip and looked down.

"I thought you quit Olivia. For the fucking hundredth time" he said as he tossed it in the bin and walked away.

"Richard-"

Olivia followed him to the bedroom but he shut the door to her face startling her. Her eyes filled with tears and her body trembled. She felt like shit. She had let down everybody in her life and now it looked like she might lose Richard too.

Olivia knows she has issues to deal with, memories to confront, the future to face and all that. She tries to be a better person, but she's just not able to. She wants to be the best of herself, _or maybe she doesn't._ Sometimes she feels this is how her life will be spent. She internally made peace with that long ago. But the people around her reminded her of her weakness, her fading will in life and instead of motivating her, it pushed her down a dark hole further. That's why she distanced herself from everybody except for Richard, who seems to be drifting away from her. Why wouldn't he? She only brings misery and pain to people. Her head fills with the same thoughts that make her drink at nights to sleep and she runs to the bin in the kitchen and fishes out the bottle of vodka and gulps it down her throat. The burning liquid doesn't hurt anymore, _instead it soothes her._

She doesn't realise how long she's been out or passed out when she wakes and sees the clock on the wall and immediately panics. She's already twenty minutes late to work. She got up with a huge headache and popped two painkillers. She ran to her bathroom and took a quick shower. She wore a black pencil skirt and a white blouse. She only looked into the mirror to apply some mascara and some lipstick. She covered up her tired eyes and her dark circles with some make up and she was ready in minutes. She thanked her stars that her office was literally a five minute walk from her place. She held the heels in her hands and ran down the stairs of her building. She lived on the second floor of a small 3-storey building.

She reached her floor in the next 10 minutes and when she finally reached her cubicle, she didn't see Stacy around and was glad. She really hoped nobody noticed her absence, although the time she entered at the biometric before entering her office showered her to be almost an hour late.

She got on to her work that she left behind yesterday.

Almost an hour passed when she saw Stacy take dangerous strides into the office. Olivia internally hoped she wasn't walking towards her but her feelings came true when she saw Stacy standing at her cubicle towering over her like a giant.

"Boss wants to see you. Now" she says with a frown on her face.

"Me? Why?" Olivia asks baffled.

"You screwed up the article on the new product and he's really mad. I told him I'll handle it but he wants to meet the person who approved such a terrible article" she said in utter distaste, making Olivia wonder how much of that actually came from him.

"His words. Don't look at me like that." Stacy said and walked ahead gesturing Olivia to follow.

Olivia got up from her seat nervously. She felt her hands turn sweaty and sweat beads forming at her forehead. She didn't know why she was being called. Usually when such things happen the department head fires the concerned person and honestly this matter seemed small to involve the CEO. _And what the hell did she miss in the article ?_

Yesterday when Jake came around to call her for the conference meeting,she was reading it for the second time and found no fault as she had already corrected the first draft.

Confusion, fear and paranoia mixed in a cocktail inside her head. She knew she would be fired, she would be jobless. Richard is mad at her, she may fall behind on her rent, she may end up homeless. Her mind raced fast with these thoughts.

And yeah, Olivia Pope is the definition of pessimism and paranoia.

Stacy and Olivia reached the floor and waited outside his office to be summoned.

After almost twenty minutes, they were cleared to go meet him. Olivia meekly stepped into his office behind Stacey. She looked like a mouse hiding in a corner. Stacy gestured her to move forward and Olivia hesitantly stood a little front almost at the same level at Stacy.

She saw him lift up his head and his eyes landed on her. Olivia immediately looked down to prevent him from seeing the tears that pooled at the corners of her eyes.

"This is Olivia Pope. She was responsible for the article l, sir"

A moment of silence passed as Olivia became more agitated.

"Stacy, would you mind waiting outside?"

Stacy was taken aback by his question. Never the person to question her boss, she stepped out leaving Olivia there with him.

Olivia finally looked up to see him sitting on his chair, his eyes locked to hers.

She saw his face twitch, and he seemed lost the next second. He looked like he was thinking hard about something and Olivia guessed what he must be thinking about. _He's wondering whether he remembers seeing me before._

An uncomfortable minute passes and he clears his throat bringing back Olivia's attention to him.

"Be careful from next time. Don't repeat the same mistake" he says as he looks away, fidgeting the pen in his fingers.

Olivia is surprised. _So, he's not going to fire me?_

 _Does that mean, he remembers me?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Again, I'd like to remind you that this chapter contains scenes of sexual assault and if you're not comfortable reading, I'd suggest you not to.**

I'm walking on the lane next to the bar I just came out of. My legs are wobbly, my ankles are straining themselves trying not to twist and trip me. The street seems to go in and out of focus to my eyes, but I still keep walking. Because I know I can get something, that will get me out of this misery. I smile to myself excited and try to walk faster.

Just when I reach my usual pick up place I see nobody there. I check the watch on my hand to see the time and it's past 1AM.

Fuck.

It's way past 12 AM, which is usually when the people here come out to sell. I internally groan and I make my way back to the Main Street. Annoyed at the turn of events, I hardly bother to check where I was going until I heard some giggling sounds in the background.

I slowly looked around, to see nobody. Maybe my drunk head was making up things now. I ignored the feeling and stood for a second to analyse were exactly I was and how to get out of here. That's when I heard the laughing again. This time it made me nervous. Because it seemed to get closer. There were men laughing somewhere around me and by this point I knew they were messing around with me on purpose. The panic button in my body goes off and the adrenaline surges into my body. The vodka-daze leaves and my senses are alert now.

I can feel my heart beat faster and my palms sweating. I try not to think of all the things going on in my head.

Realising that I had to do something I start to walk opposite to the way I came from. I take slow calculated steps and keep looking behind on both the sides to see if anybody was behind me. A shadow appears to my left, which my reflexes kick into action as I turn around suddenly to my left, only to be grabbed by a pair of hands from the front.

I yelped and feel a hand cover my mouth. Another hand pulled held my waist against something hard, a body.

I opened my eyes widely and I was met with the three pairs of eyes looking at me like animals.

My worst fear had come true.

I struggle to release myself from the grip of the person holding me which only led another man to punch me in the abdomen. My scream looks like puffed cheeks straining against his hands. Tears flow down my cheeks continuously as I begged between muffled screams to let me go but all they did was laugh at me.

I cried and cried more, my tears now reaching my chest. One of them with a beard stepped forward.

"What do you think her pussy would taste like?" He said.

I shut my eyes and tried to kick him with all my strength. He fell back but immediately the other two men jumped at me.

"You fucking bitch" he said as he charged at me after getting up.

I bit the the fingers that were holding me hostage. The man cursed as he let me go and I ran. I screamed loudly with all my lung power. "HELP ME"

I hadn't even covered 10 steps when I feel somebody pull at my hair. I screamed into the silent night and the 3 others circled me, one of them putting a gag in my mouth and the other stretching my arms back and holding them.

The man I pushed down earlier sneered at me and ran his eyes on my body disgustingly. I pleaded and cried but nobody cared.

He grabbed my top at the neckline making me pull myself away from him. But that enraged him further and he tore down my dress which gives away and pools at my feet. I look away unable to bear what would happen next.

They laughed around as he held up the shreds of my shirt. I closed my eyes and beg to every god up there to please, just please rescue me from this situation. The fear now was replaced by shock and disgust. I cried on, hoping they would have mercy on me, but no,all they did was laugh and hurl obscenities at me.

The second guy began to walk towards me which made me move back but the guy holding me from behind kicked me in my butt pushing me forward. He spits on my chest and looks at me with a horrible look in his face. I feel myself crumbling down as every second passes.

He comes closer and pushes my bra up to which I scream a no, only to be spat on again. I bit my lips so hard I was sure they were bleeding because I could taste blood in my mouth.

My legs began to shiver as I began to lose consciousness from all that was happening. I felt myself become weak, my head was spinning but I tried to stand straight.

I tried to elbow the guy behind me, but my body had no strength.

My resolve was fading, I was almost on the verge of giving up. The man put his hands up in the air as if grab my breasts. I closed my eyes as the tears flowed down my face.

The next moment, all I heard was a gunshot.

I woke up gasping for air. My body was sweating, my clothes stuck to my body, my blanket was soaked. I looked around to see Richard sleeping next to me and I immediately panicked and got out of the bed and fell down.

My breathing was shallow and rapid. My eyes were filled with tears. The nightmares I had tried years avoiding had come back again. I was scared as I looked at my surroundings. The darkness in my room reminded me of that night, which made me want to curl up. I felt disgusted and impure. I felt like tearing away my skin as I felt those men touching me again. I felt like they were somewhere hidden in the darkness of my room still watching, still laughing, still preying.

I pressed my head with my hands to eliminate those thoughts but I could not. If I stay awake they trouble me, if I sleep they trouble me.

After a few minutes, I drink some water from my bed side table and feel slightly better. Sleep was a better escape than this. And so I pulled out the drawer and found my sleeping pills. I popped two of them and extended my neck back to the wall.

—-

"Olivia wake up!" I hear a distant voice calling me.

I feel my face wet, like I'm drowning. I suddenly gasp and open my eyes only to meet a pair of blue eyes. Richard.

"Hey, are you okay?" His voice softens. I see that he sprinkled water on my face to wake me up.

He comes closer to touch my shoulder and I immediately move to my side. He seems shocked but doesn't say anything. I guess he realised I had another nightmare.

"You haven't had these in a long time Olivia." He said, concerned.

"I..k..now" I stutter.

"What happened?" He asks patiently.

"N-o-th-ing" I said and got up from the floor and walkedto the washroom.

I look at myself in the mirror and despise myself. When did I become so weak? When did I become this person? I couldn't recognise the person in the mirror. Two years ago, this was not me. My eyes were sunken, there were dark circles all around my eyes, my skin was pale and dry, my hair was damp and lifeless. I looked nothing like I did before. All I saw infront of me was a broken woman.

I turned away from the mirror unable to look at myself anymore.

I went and stood under the shower and turned it on. I was fully clothed and sat down as the water cascaded down on me. I cried my heart out. I didn't have the courage to face my tears and that's why I sat under the shower, so

that the water would conceal the pain. So that I couldn't see what I was going through. Because I didn't know how much strength was left in me until I gave up.

—

I went to work that day and the first thing I did was go to Stacy.

I stood in front of her as she looked at me quizzically.

"Olivia. Why are you here?" She asked.

I pulled out a small envelope from my purse and placed it on the table.

"I quit."


	4. Chapter 4

**So sorry for any confusion. This story originally was written for different characters Amelia and Eric, and I'm editing the chapters to make it an Olitz story. Sorry for the typos, I'm going to be more careful.**

 **Coming to my other stories, I've written half a chapter for The Tutor, I hope I get inspiration to finish it. Im a little confused about that one, so I hope I'll be able to update by the end of this week.**

 **And this story, I find that it maybe doesn't have the appeal of an olitz story, so I'm worried whether I should continue it or not. Let me know about this.**

Stacy stared at me completely shocked by what I just said. She raised her eyebrow as she scrutinised me. I looked away not able to look her in the eye.

"Olivia, take a seat" she said.

Hesitantly, I took a seat in front of her.

She sat in her chair in front of me and leaned closer bringing her hands together in front. I fidgeted with the hem of my skirt which was at my knees now that I sat down.

"If this is about yesterday-"

"It's not" I interjected.

Her expression strained.

"How about I give you a day to think about it?" She smiled and got up.

What the fuck. I can't even leave when I want to?

"Stacy"

She looked at me surprised because I called her by her first name. I'm so fucking done with everything.

" .tomorrow." She said sternly and I didn't think it was wise to press further so I let it go. Today or tomorrow, my decision was going to be the same. Seeing him has triggered my memories even though, he didn't...

I walk back to my desk and exhale a frustrated sigh as I sit down.

I see Jake walking toward me and I internally groan. I'm not ready for his shit right now.

"Hey pretty girl" he says as he leans onto my desk. I smirk and tell him I'm not in a good mood.

"We should go to lunch then."

What? Did he not understand what I just said?

I roll my eyes at him.

"Look, I'm going out to eat pizza. You can come if you want" he says sarcastically.

I am not going to say no to pizza.

I stare at his face for a second and then get up from my seat. I could use from fresh air and pizza though I have to sit through the annoying company of Jake. More over, I won't see him again from tomorrow so I guess lunch isn't a bad idea.

He smiles happily at me which makes me smirk.

We walk out of our office door. We take the elevator to the ground floor. He told me there's a new pizza place on the opposite side of the street and I wondered why I hadn't noticed it.

The elevator dings open and I and Jake are the first to exit. We make our way to the main exit of the building. I was adjusting the strap on my watch when something on my peripheral vision caught my eye.

I turn around immediately to my left and see him. He too was looking right back at me.

Fitzgerald Grant. Also the man who saved me that night. The new CEO.

His face is strained as he continues to look at me. Jake touches my shoulder making me wince, and I see take a step towards me. I shake my head in a no, in his direction gesturing him to stay right there. He stops and looks at me with a sad look on his face this time which makes me uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?" I finally hear Jake speak.

He looks at me and then in the direction of and I nervously follow his gaze, only to see no sign of . I frown and turn around and begin to walk hoping that Jake gets the hint and will follow me without any questions. And thankfully, he did exactly that.

Jake and I sat down on the chairs outside the cafe. I was hit by an amazing aroma of the baking pizzas and I thanked Jake internally for bringing me here.

I ordered myself a glass of wine which made Jake raise his eyebrow at me smirking.

"We gotta go back to work after this ya know" he said.

"It's just one glass. Come on" I say chuckling as I looked at the menu to order our pizzas.

We ordered a Margharita and a Pepperoni. I wondered if we would be able to finish two pizzas given that I have an almost non existent appetite, but Jake promised to finish the food if there were any left.

Our pizzas came after half an hour. While we waited for our pizzas Jake spoke for the most time but this time I actually enjoyed the conversation. He was not annoying or flirting. He spoke about his parents, where he grew up, what he wanted to do next. It was nice listening to him speak.

The pizzas were great and as I had expected I was full after two slices of each.

Jake rolled his eyes when I told him I can't eat anymore.

"Come on, screw your diet for a day" he said.

I laughed loudly at that.

"Diet? I'm never on a diet"

"Please. With that figure, I'm sure you're a total fitness freak"

I blushed slightly at that but felt really awkward and uncomfortable. I am not the person to take compliments well. I have no idea what to do when someone gives me a compliment, which honestly happens so rarely.

"I've never been to a gym. I don't know, I've always had a low appetite" I say shrugging my shoulders.

"Relax. I was kidding" he said and he bit off a chunk of pizza in a funny way making me chuckle.

"You look nice when you smile. You should do that more" he said as he took another bite.

I just chuckle because I don't know what else to say or do. Bad with compliments as I said.

As he finished his pizza I drank another glass of wine.

"Big appetite for wine but" he said making me laugh. Internally I was feeling guilty for drinking again. I brushed those thoughts aside as I didn't want them to cloud a positive moment I was having right now.

We went back to work after having our lunch. After all my work was done, I prepared to leave as I picked up my bag and phone. I saw Stacy walking towards me and I knew she wanted to speak about something because of the way she looked.

"Think about it again." She said, this time touching my shoulder which was so unlike her. I mean I always thought Stacy was the kind of person wouldn't notice someone's existence until she got to know they were dead or something. So this, coming from her was very weird.

I tried to smile and nod at her and left.

I wore my coat and button up myself and walked out of the ground floor into the cold evening air. My apartment was a five minute walk and as usual I walked on the street opposite passing by by the pizza place this time, which made me smile a little.

I reached home and there was no sign of Richard. He's working late today also, I guess.

I decide to catch up on any chores that were left to do. I'm a total neat freak. I remember Richard always said he loved living with me because I always kept it clean due to my cleanliness OCD. I found that slightly amusing but let it pass.

I put the clothes in the washing machine, I wiped the dust off the windows and cleaned my balcony. I arranged the magazines neatly on my table and then went to the kitchen to see if there was anything to do. It was surprisingly clean, which means Richard cleaned it this morning. I was grateful he did this.

Richard worked as a chef at a fancy Japanese Restaurant half way across town. It paid good, but was far away from the house and also it demanded late hours. He usually comes home exhausted and irritated, being in the kitchen all day.

Seeing that I didn't have anything to do, I went to my balcony and lit up a cigarette and wondered what to do tomorrow.

I panicked seeing , then the nightmare scared me to death and all I wanted to do was distance myself from any memory of that night. That was the only reason I wanted to quit my job. I was hesitant, but I'm worried about my nightmares.

As I was deep in my thoughts, I didn't hear the doorbell ring twice. My ears were alert the third time the bell rung.

It was 6PM. I wondered who it was as it's not Richard most probably. My anxiety kicks in and I'm apprehensive to even go near the door.

After debating for seconds, I finally decide to se Who it is.

I look through the keyhole and gasp.

I open the door and I'm pretty sure he saw my jaw touch the floor.

"Mr...Gra-nt?


	5. Chapter 5

**I have decided to post the first 6 chapters and then decide whether to continue or not.**

I heard a loud gunshot and felt blood spatter on my chest. I shrieked when I saw that the man who spat on me before now lay in a pool of his own blood. The men who held me released me and began to run for their lives only to be shot down one after the other. I ran to a corner and pulled my dress together in the mid line. I don't know why, I should've ran I know, but I wanted to witness the satisfaction of seeing those men die infront of me.

For what they did to me, they deserved it. It was like instant karma. Building the courage I looked around to see from where exactly the bullets came from. They saw what was happening to me, will they do the same? Or will they kill me?

Suddenly I panic and begin to run and I suddenly collide with somebody's hard chest.

I almost fall back but I feel somebody pull me back. I immediately pull back at the disgust of being touched, though it saved me from a fall.

The lights illuminated only half his face and even then I could make out the defines of his face. That day I was frazzled, but today I can recount each and everything about him.

I saw him and stepped back. I clutched my clothes tighter to my chest. As glad as I was for being saved from those men, what guarantee did I have that this man could be trusted?

He took a step back and took off his jacket and looked away. He extended his hand with jacket towards me. I thought whether I should take it or not. I was desperate and I took it from him. I turned around and wore it quickly. When I turned back again, he was still facing away from me. It gave me a little confidence about him.

"Tha-nk you" I stuttered.

He looked back at me and nodded. I couldn't look him in the eye. The fact that somebody else had seen me being violated made me feel vulnerable and I could see the pity in his eyes. Yes I would be forever grateful to him for saving me, but still.

"Can I drop you home? If you don't mind. I don't think you should go alone"

I looked at him surprised.

As much as I didn't want to say this,

"An-d I sho-uld tru-st you?" I ask meekly. After what happened, I'm terrified about being alone with any stranger.

I thought he would be angry and walk away but no he looked away for a few seconds as if thinking what the best solution would be.

"Here, take the gun" he says handing the gun over to me.

What the hell?

"If I misbehave, shoot me" he says looking me right in the eye.

I look at him shocked and also in awe.

"Don't worry. It's loaded. I'm not screwing with you" He says with a small hint of a smile.

I take the gun from him and look at it. My hands are shivering as I turn it around and inspect it, although I know nothing about guns.

"I live close by" I say.

"So you want to walk?" He asks.

"Yes" I reply.

"Alright, lead the way" he says with a small smile on his face.

It took 10 minutes to reach the apartment where I lived. All the while he walked almost next to me. My eyes watered continuously and I tried to be discreet but I'm sure he noticed it, but did not say anything.

When we reached the apartment, he stood opposite to me, a comfortable gap between us.

My eyes were wet and sunken and I could barely look at him.

"Keep it" He said, when I tried to give him the gun back.

"No, please, just take it" I said, pleading.

He hesitantly took it from me.

"I'm sorry." He said flatly.

I tried removing the jacket and giving it to him, protecting my modesty with my hands.

"No, no, no. Please keep it" He said.

I stopped and nodded.

"Will you be okay from here?" He asks motioning to the gate to my apartment.

"Ye-s, I'll be fi-ne" I stammer.

He didn't seem convinced with my answer and he looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn't.

"Thank you" I said, as a lone tear fell on my cheek.

I looked away, trying not to burst into tears in front of him.

I saw him move one step closer.

"You don't have to be afraid. Those men are gone, forever" he said with his clenched jaw.

I simply nodded and walked to the gate. All I wanted to do was be back in the familiarity and safety of my house.

And that was one year ago.

"Mr Gra-nt?"I see my stammer has returned.

He looks at me wondering what to say.

"What are you doing here?" I ask curiously. How does he know where I live?

"I..." he begins to say and then stops.

He looks at me for a few minutes and I become conscious and my anxiety kicks in. Would it be weird to admit that he's really good-looking?

"I...just had to know.." he says as he lets out a breath.

"Know..what?" I ask confused.

"That you were okay" he says as he looks deep into my eyes.

I look away. I can never make eye-contact with people. I don't know why, it makes me feel scrutinised and I feel, bare.

I realise what he means by that.

"It was a year ago..I'm fine" I say biting my lip, still not looking at him.

"I just keep wondering if I should've said something to you that night..I just..."

" , you saved me from a horrible thing. You did more than anybody would have in that situation" I say.

I feel awkward that he's still standing outside the flat and so I invite him inside but he declines.

"I'm sorry to come here out of nowhere..I look like a creep I know..I just had to know and see for myself that you were okay.I'm sorry if I brought back those terrible memories ...that wasn't my intention." He says sadly this time, looking away. I could make out that he doesn't apologise much.

"Thanks." I say, this time with a small smile.

He looks surprised and then smiles back.

"Thanks, for ...caring.." I say. Although that sounds sad, it just came out of my mouth.

Nobody gave a shit about me in a long time. I don't know, I just felt that I mattered, for that second.

He smiles at me.

"I should leave" he says.

"If you need anything, you can approach me" He says genuinely.

I give him a tight lipped smile in return and nod in return. I'm never gonna ask him for anything, obviously.

He leaves and gives me a look before he finally leaves my field of vision.

I close the door and ponder over what just happened.

That's the weirdest thing to happen in a while.


	6. Chapter 6

Two weeks have passed since I told Stacy about my decision to stay back. I don't know why, but she seemed happy to know that I would be continuing to work here. I was surprised because she never gave a shit about whether I existed or not before and now suddenly she's so sweet to me out of nowhere. I ignore it, I mean why should I complain about somebody being sweet to me ?

My nightmares have reduced. I had one nightmare in the last two weeks which was a very weird one. I was trying to catch a train but fell on the tracks. I was frozen to those tracks, there was no escaping. I get chills even today when I think about that dream. I remember my body being numb, tied to the ground by some invisible force and I remember using all my energy to push myself up but I couldn't. So I gave up and lay on the tracks. I heard the whistle of a train and I knew very soon I'd be under it. Panic and anxiety hit me the first moment but then suddenly I felt like my accustomed to it. I felt calm. I felt like, my body was preparing itself for this. As the sound got closer I shut my eyes. Now the train was so close I could feel the vibration of the tracks beneath me. I shut my eyes closer, preparing to be crushed and torn. The pain will only last a moment I tell myself, knowing that I'll be dead in 2 seconds once it touches me.

I make a tight fist and wait only to be pulled away by a hand. And that's when I woke up.

The first week since I got that dream was awful. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I had no idea what it meant. I wanted to tell Richard but then realised he's been dealing with my shit since a long time I don't want to burden him. And also, he's very busy. They're changing the menu at the place he works at so he's under a constant pressure to come up with something new and exciting. I didn't want to trouble him. Anyway, ignoring my thoughts about the same dream troubling me I decide to focus on my work.

I go about my day with the same old work. After just 2 hours of working I was exhausted and badly needed a smoke break. So I tell a girl next to my cubicle to text me if there's anything and then I walk out to the smoking area with my purse.

I see a lot of men and women there and they look at me when I enter and I feel anxious. I just put my head down and walk to a far away corner and open my pack of cigarettes and pull one out. I put it in my mouth and light it and inhale the smoke and close my eyes as I feel the smoke making me feel lighter.

I stare into the open. The smoking area in this floor has an indoor area and a balcony where I was currently at. From here I can see the whole city and it reminds me of the view from my own house. For a few seconds I allow myself to look at all that there is ahead of me. I smile sadly, and ash my cigarette in one of those ash trays and go to the washroom. I pop a gum in my mouth and spray some perfume. Stacy already knows I smoke and she hates it. She's told me I'm allowed to smell of cigarettes only twice a day, although none would be the perfect expectation.

As I'm walking back to my office I get a message on my phone. I see it's from Richard.

"Come to the restaurant for dinner tonight. Try out the new menu. Love ya."

I smile when I see the message. I was grateful I didn't have to stay alone in my apartment after work. Sitting alone at home is just the worst.

I go back to work feeling good.

It was 5pm when I left the office. There wasn't much to do today, so I finished early. I stepped out, it was cold and I pulled my coat closer to my body and walked back home.

I decided to go to the restaurant at 7PM. It was a fancy place and I didn't want to look like the odd one out. I had to wear something decent.

I opened my fridge and took out a bottle of wine and poured myself a glass of it. I switched on the television and took my glass of wine and opened my laptop to check my emails or something cause honestly I was so bored. My TV was on most of the time but I never watched it. I wasn't a huge fan of any dramas on tv or movies. I'm a boring person, I know it.

Most of my emails were just ads and shut my laptop down and walked out to my balcony for another smoke.

I managed to waste time till 6PM. After that I took a shower and dried my hair. I didn't bother styling it or something because I honestly didn't feel like it. It was in natural soft curls and I didn't think it looked very bad. I opened my cupboard and saw my clothes. These are the times I truly feel bad for not shopping. My shopping sprees are as frequent as a blue moon.

I pull out an old black off shoulder dress. It was slightly body hugging but that's all I had right now.I look at myself in the mirror and frown when I see that it has become loose. Have I lost weight again? I ignore my thoughts and decide to go with the dress anyway. I apply light make up so that I don't look entirely dead. I finish it off with some red lipstick.

I am satisfied with how I look and wear my best black heels and take my bag and coat before locking my apartment.

I wear my coat as I walk down the stairs. I think of taking the train but then decide that a cab is better. Anyway I won't be spending on today's meal. The restaurant's owner Charlie is very fond of Richard. He said we can have food there anytime any number of times. And of course I'm not going to exploit that opportunity. I've dined there only twice before. Once when I went to meet Richard at work and the second time on Richard's birthday which was months ago.

I feel awkward as I see some men give me appreciatory glances. I hug my coat closer and hope to get a cab soon.

I finally get one and I'm on my way to the restaurant. It's approximately twenty minutes away.

I plug in my earphones and play some slow music and look out of the window. I reach there slightly earlier than I thought. I pay the cab guy and walk into the restaurant and I see they have a new hostess. I smile nervously. Did I ever mention I have trouble with new people?

She was sweet and she took me to where Charlie was. He saw me and came in for a hug and I awkwardly obliged.

"God I haven't seen you in what? A year?" He asks as he looks at me closely. I feel awkward as his eyes quickly scan me.

Charlie was young, he was around 30 I think. This restaurant was a side business for him. But it was doing really well and so he really paid attention to it.

"Ye-ah...it's been seven months I think m...I came here for Richard's birthday"

"Oh! Right!" He says. But I'm sure he doesn't remember.

"Well you've come at the right time, there's a new menu and you will love it for sure! But before that how about we get some drinks from the bar?"

How can I say no to that?

He guides me to the bar and I follow him.

"And by the way Olivia, you look amazing" he says standing opposite to me at the bar counter.

I'm surprised at the compliment. I awkwardly smile and say thanks.

We have a small conversation for about fifteen minutes I think when I see his eyes light up because of something behind me. He waves to somebody and says "Olivia, if you don't mind give me 10 minutes! I gotta meet someone"

"Yeah sure" I reply.

I sip my cocktail and open my phone. There's no point of using my phone because I'm not on any social media but it's better to be seen alone with your phone than seen alone with your drink.

I can hear Charlie in the background going "Man, I'm so glad you came! It's your first time, trust me you're going to love the food!"

"Well I've been wanting to visit, you know that. Glad I could make it" I heard a smooth baritone voice reply and I instantly became alert.

I slowly turned around and yes it was him.

.

I became conscious and felt my nerves returning back. I have no idea to this day why I get this feeling everytime I see him. I know we share history, but this vague feeling. It's not bad, it's just something I don't understand.

I don't know what I would say if he sees me so I just turn back to my phone. Seeing him here is just weird and awkward and just... I don't know, weird.

"You didn't bring Mellie?"

"Ah nah. She's busy today. She's having a reunion night with her high school friends or something" I hear him say. This is not right I shouldn't be eavesdropping but I couldn't help myself and the fact that they were right behind me didn't help. Mellie must be his wife I think? I quickly think back to that pretty brunette who kissed him at the meeting that day when he was announced the new CEO.

"Ah okay" Charlie says. "Let's go out to the back. I gotta a private table for you"

"Alright. But I wanna order a drink for myself before we go there" I hear him say.

Shit he's going to come here. Be calm, Olivia. Wtf.

"Okay, I'll go check out whether everything's set up"

"Okay. But don't bother too much. I'll be fine anywhere"

"Hell No, I'm not letting The Fitzgerald Grant just drink away at the bar counter. You're getting the best table in my restaurant Sir"

I hear chuckle as I see Charlie ahead of me now walking away.

I shift in my chair slightly to face the bar proper.

I can feel come and stand next to me.

He orders a scotch and then looks straight ahead as he says

"Hi Olivia"

I exhale a deep breath as I turn to face him. He smiles at me. This is the first time I've seen him smile so the light of the bar in the dimly lit room, his face shines and I can't ignore the fact that he looks so handsome.

" " I say nervously. I think I see his eyes drop to my collar bones for a fraction of a second before he looks upto my face. I feel my face blush a little realising that actually happened.

He does not say anything for a while. The silence is tense and the air feels really sticky.

I look over to him and I feel like he's thinking whether to say it or not.

"You're here alone?" He finally asks looking at me.

"Ah, no...my boyfriend's works as a Chef here" I stammer slightly. What's with him and my stammering ?

I see his eyebrow lift a little and his face tense, a buried breath escapes his mouth.

"Oh" he says flatly and looks ahead to receive his glass of scotch from the bartender.

"I hope you have a great time" he says with a tight lipped smile and leaves.


	7. Chapter 7

**I've written 10 chapters for this story till now and I'm going to upload all of them.**

Richard joined me almost twenty minutes after I sat at the bar. I see that he was out of this chef coat and is wearing a black shirt and dark jeans. He looks great, as always.

He is positively surprised looking at me sort of dressed up.

"Damn girl you look amazing" he says and kisses me. I can feel myself blush as we break away from the kiss.

He frowns when he sees my drink.

"Come on, let's celebrate the new menu" I say with fake enthusiasm as I try to get him to ignore my drinking.

"How many of those have you drank?" He asks.

God why can't he drop it?

"One" I lied. This was my second one.

He stared at me for a while before breaking into a smile as he hugged me.

"Okay. But I'll keep a check on this, okay?"

"Okay" I say hesitantly.

He holds my hand and walks me to a table at the back of the restaurant. I've never been to this part of the restaurant. There's a glass door and two guards outside.

They move away when they see Richard and I'm curious.

"Woah, what is this place?" I say as we step in.

It looks like a completely different place. Honestly I thought what I'd seen till now was fancy, but this was a whole other level.

I saw the place had widely spaced out tables, with expensive fresh flowers on every one of them, lit candles were placed next to them. The seating looked luxurious with plush comfortable sofas. I was shocked, to be honest. The whole room was dimly lit and I saw that seventy percent of the tables were full. They were all in their best clothes. Men in their suits and women in beautiful expensive dresses and diamonds. I felt so awkward and I guess Richard sensed it.

"Relax. Nobody cares. Everybody's in their own world" he said as he guided me to a table at the corner.

I looked around to see not many cared or noticed us except a few and that made me feel better.

"This seating was made especially to host important customers you know. Celebrities, politicians etc" he says in a low voice as we walk to the table.

I half listen to Richard as I see we're approaching 's table. He was laughing along with Charlie and two other men.

I behaved as though I hadn't seen him until the point we were close to his table and I peeked to look at him only to see his blue eyes looking back at me. I gave a small smile acknowledging him and he subtly nods at me before going back to his conversation.

I feel very strange about this whole thing. I'm dining in the same room as my boss. I feel very awkward.

"Richard?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we sit outside?" I ask biting my lip.

"Why? Don't you like it?"

"No, it's not that." I say hesitantly.

"Liv,, you look beautiful, there's no need to feel conscious" He says touching my cheek.

I give him a small smile. He thinks I'm feeling out of place here.

"No, it's not that. My boss is sitting on the next table"

"Boss?" He asks curiously and looks over.

"Fitzgerald Grant?" He recognises.

"Yes"

"He's the CEO right? He won't know or remember each and person who works for him" he adds.

Except he does.

He sees my blank face and raises an eyebrow.

"Does he know you?"

"No" I lie.

"Then you have nothing to feel awkward about" he smiled and kissed me on the forehead.

I can't help but notice Richard being more affectionate today than usual. Not that's it's bad, just different. He's just happy about the restaurant revamp, I guess.

We sat down at a table behind 's. Thank god we weren't facing his table, otherwise I would feel conscious.

Richard ordered the food for me and was so excited for me to try that it almost made me feel bad about how sometimes I felt like a rock tying him down from achieving his dreams. I don't know, I've always felt I didn't deserve Richard. He was so bright, charming and ambitious and I was the total opposite- sad, miserable with no social or people skills. I have no idea how he even fell in love with me.

I push those thoughts aside knowing that they will upset me otherwise.

He shows me my surroundings subtly and tells me how this whole place was planned, then executed. Where the furniture was from, the marble, those chandeliers. My eyes bulged when he told me how much was spent to make only this area of the place had a retro,classy vibe. It was the definition of luxury.

Our food arrived pretty quick and so did our wine. We ordered a plate of Edamame first, it was honestly my most favourite thing in the world. As simple as it was, I could most probably eat a giant bowl of it non stop. Richard ordered the house specials, which were a Miso soup with mussels, Prawn Cheung, a truffle Avocado sushi and fried garlic black rice. I honestly wondered whether we would be able to eat so much, but then realised that the portions were small.

Richard and I spoke about my work, he asked how everything was going and I said it was fine. I was obviously not going to tell that I almost quit the other day. He would freak out or get upset and I didn't quit so he didn't need to know.

The conversation drifted to unknowingly.

"I honestly can't believe that his(Fitz's) dad is such a big douche bag"

"Huh?" I ask, confused.

Richard looks at me surprised. "Seriously? Liv, you work there, how could you not know?" He asked.

I felt embarrassed.

"His dad disowned him for almost 10 years or something."

"Wow. What?" I asked genuinely shocked.

"He only took him back two years ago. Nobody knows what happened, just that he magically appeared to care for his son again" I felt uneasy listening to that. I felt bad for him.

"But, the rumours are-"

He leaned in closer as he looked around to make sure nobody was watching or listening.

I leaned in closer too, curious.

"Those 10 years, he got into some bad shit. Like, really bad shit" He said looking at me like he was telling me the biggest secret of his life.

I don't know, I wasn't surprised. Maybe I expected this from him. I always wondered what was doing with a gun wandering around in that alley at 1AM that night. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him in that boardroom, when I realised what an affluent and respectable background he came from.

Richard leaned back in into his chair as he sipped his wine. I was lost in my thoughts. I badly wanted to ask that question.

"Why did his 's father disown him?" I asked.

Richard looked me straight in the eye and said "Nobody knows. That's why everybody was shocked and are still shocked"

"They're very famous, but they are notoriously private. Don't even get me started on his wife" he said.

His wife?

Oh yeah, he's married. I keep forgetting that.

"What about his wife?"I asked.

Richard chuckled and said "I sound like a loser gossiping. This Charlie tells me a lot of shit" he said as he put a chunk of that delicious prawn cheung into his mouth.

"Crack head" he said looking as he drank more wine.

"Oh" I said. I wasn't surprised,again. I don't know I always expected this from these uber famous, rich people. A lot of them are hooked onto drugs, it's no secret.

"Well, we're nobody to judge...who knows what issues they're going through" I say in a low voice after taking a sip of my wine.

Richard rolls his eyes and says "You can't take care of your children high as a kite"

.

"Oh wow" I say.

"Let's just chuck this, not our conversation anyway." I add, trying to ignore this topic.

"Of course you would say that"

I look up from my plate shocked that he would say that. I see him smirk and look away shaking his head.

I want to say something but then bite my tongue and tell myself to keep quiet.

"Richard. Can we just have a nice night, screw everything else?" I ask, with a small smile.

He looks at me and exhales.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry"

I don't say anything, just a tight lipped smile.

Honestly the conversation ended after that. Richard looked lost in this thoughts, he didn't say much after that. I too ate my food silently.

We were having our Sushi when I saw Charlie walk up to our table and put a hand around Richard's neck. He sat down next to him, facing me.

"So how's the food Olivia?" He asked enthusiastically.

"It's great" I say.

"All because of Richard" and Richard just smirks. I smile in acknowledgement.

"Fitz is super impressed. He asked for you" Charlie says to Richard. I realise that Charlie just called Fitz. It sounds nice.

I can clearly see that Richard is flattered.

Both of them get up and walk behind me to meet .

I took another bite of my sushi, not knowing exactly what else to do. I could hear him speaking faintly behind me. I heard say "absolutely delicious" and I smiled, proud of Richard.

I turned around slowly to see them. Richard looked at my direction and extended his hand.

Is he calling me there? Oh god.

I looked at him confused, but I saw him mouth "come here".

I placed my napkin on my chair as I got up. My nerves returned to make me feel anxious.

I walked slowly upto their table.

"This is Olivia, my girlfriend" Richard said, wrapping a hand around my waist.

"Hi Olivia, it's nice to meet you" said, formally. His eyes momentarily wandered to my waist where Richard's hand rested.

"It's nice to meet you too, " I say, as if I'd never met the man before.

"She works in your office. She's in marketing" Charlie adds.

I feel so embarrassed, because I'm being introduced to who I'm already aquatinted with. This whole situation is very awkward.

"Oh, that's great. I hope you like your job" he says, smirking this time.

I bite my lip as I feel a weird tension gripping the air.

"Ye-s, I do" I say with a small chuckle. He smiles at me in response.

"We'll leave you to enjoy your meal. It was an honour meeting you" I heard Richard say .To think, he was talking about a few minutes ago.

We sat back on our table and finished our food.

Almost an hour later, I was outside on the street,looking for a cab. Richard told me to go home as he would stay back late as he had to asses today's response to the new menu, look at the complaints, inventory and stuff. I was slightly disappointed, but that was his job.

I heard the restaurant door open behind me.

"You're alone?" I heard.

I turned around surprised to see .

"Uh Rich-ard had some work so he stayed back"

He analysed what I just said as he kept looking at me.

"It's pretty late. I can drop you home"

I was apprehensive, which he noticed.

"Or I can tell my driver to drop you" he adds.

"Thank you , but, I'll be fine" I said with a smile on my face.

"Can I atleast get a cab for you?" He asks. I realise he won't give up.

"Ok-ay" I chuckle.

(For those who have any doubts, Fitz's father disowned him for 10 years and accepted him back into his life only 2 years ago, surprising anyone. No one knows what happend to Fitz those 10 years. And Fitz's wife Mellie is hooked onto drugs.)


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's chapter 8! I've read it twice, sorry for any errors.**

 **Fitz**

When Fitz reached home, it was already 12. The house was dead silent, and he made sure to not make any noise as he made his way up the stairs to his room.

He opened the door slowly, not wanting to wake Mellie. He stepped inside only to see the bed empty. He eyed the balcony, there was nobody there. He sighed as he took off his blazer.

He unbuttoned his cuffs and shirt and walked to the bathroom.

After freshening up, he wore a black shirt that stuck to his abs like second skin. He wore a dark jacket on top of it. He walked to his closet and pulled out the drawer to remove a pair of black leather gloves. He put them in his pocket.

He left his room and walked to the room next to it. He opened it slowly for the fear of causing any disturbance. He switched on the light to see his daughter, Cara sleeping peacefully. He smiled as his heart filled with warmth. He reminded himself to take the day off tomorrow so that he could spend some time with her. Ever since he became the CEO, he's been busier than ever.

And it doesn't help when you're heading two polarising businesses.

He switched off the lights and walked out slowly, looking around. That was his innate habit, even when he was at home or anywhere, it's like he had eyes all over his head. Always vigilant, always alert. Because, you never know.

When he reached the ground floor of his mansion, he was greeted by Martin and Rose, the housekeepers. They were a couple in their 50s, who'd been with the family for almost 25 years of his life. These are the only two people who he really trusted, especially his family with.

"I'm heading out" he said as Martin gave him the keys to his car.

"Cara's sleeping, take care" he added. Martin modded.

Fitz went to his basement directly and got into his car.

After about forty minutes, he reached a warehouse on the outside of town. It was abandoned, had moss growing all over it, but it was the best place to carry out his businesses. Not a soul wandered around this place.

Fitz wore his gloves, grabbed his gun and got down, looking around for someone.

He walked to the door and entered a code and it opened without making a sound. He looked around again before entering.

The inside was completely different, it was brightly lit a deep contrast from the outside world. He saw three of his men circling around a badly beaten , bleeding man sitting on the chair in the center.

Fitz's blood boiled as he saw that man again.

"We waited for you to do the honour" Damon smiled a terrifying smile flashing his grills.

Fitz smirked as he walked up to the guy sitting in the middle.

"You've suffered enough." Fitz said as he took out his gun.

Damon looked at Fitz surprised. Suffered? The fuck he cares of suffering now ? Damon wondered.

He held it high up in the air with a menacing look on his face. He aimed it at the man bleeding profusely in front of him.

He pulled the trigger causing a loud sound to penetrate the air. The bullet hit the guy exactly between his eyebrows. Fitz smirked as he cocked his head to one side and looked at his work.

"I thought you'd do more" Damon interjected. Damon was his right hand, Fitz would trust Damon with his life. They were like brothers.

Fitz just stared at Damon blankly, not knowing what exactly to say.

"What's the point? He would've died anyway. Also, I have a lot of work rather than sit here and skin a man alive for your pleasure" Fitz laughed.

Damon chuckled as they walked back to Fitz's car together.

"Fitz"

"Yeah?"

"You saved a girl from being raped... a year ago?"

Fitz stared at Damon surprised. How does he know? Fitz hadn't told that to anyone.

"Those men you killed, were Remi's men" he added, ignoring the shocked expression on his friend's face.

Fitz composed himself and said "They deserved it" he confessed without a flinch.

Damon smirked and looked away. He didn't care what could've happened to that girl, all he cared about was Fitz. He was all the family he never had.

Fitz sighed and looked away. Thoughts of that night filled his head again. He was walking around looking for a person but saw those men misbehaving with that girl. He didn't care what or where he was. That wasn't something that would happen under his watch, he walked right ahead and shot them one after the other.

He saw the look of horror and relief on her face, a look that he could never forget. It still haunted him, to this day, he would wonder what could've happened to her if he hadn't showed up. He couldn't bear to think of the outcome. He could never remove those brown eyes, filled with tears staring at him with a mix of fear and hope.

It was 4 months after that incident that he found out that those were Remi's men. The man he didn't want to mess with, especially right now. Remi was as ruthless as they came. He was a street rat who turned into an underworld king in a span of 10 years. His wealth, power and influence was unparalleled.

When Fitz's father kicked him out, Remi took him in. He gave him everything, but he also asked for service.

With Remi and Fitz together became the reason for 70% of the drug business in the country. They built an empire like never before. Fitz was the boss, the king, nobody dared to cross him. Fitz worshipped Remi like his father until one day, when everything changed. Remi wasn't very pleased when Fitz told him he wanted out. He specifically remembers Remi saying "I'll kill you and your family and feed them to my dogs"

But Fitz knew that Remi could do nothing,nothing. He probably was more powerful than Remi. The police, the government didn't dare to look into Fitz's business, because he held secrets and files on everyone. Anybody touches him and they would disappear into thin air.

He ruled the city, he could've had anybody at his disposal, he was the most powerful man but not a soul in the outside world knew about Fitz. He was never seen much, he operated underground and even there he never held face to face meetings or direct meetings. Everything went through Damon, most of them didn't know how he looked and they didn't even know his real name. He was always unknown to them. So when he became CEO, only few were surprised, few who knew who he was or what he's capable of. A measly company compared to all that he is worth. They all thought he left that life behind, hell even Fitz thought he left that life behind but ever since he killed Remi's men while protecting Olivia, the old life he desperately wanted to forget came back, almost catching up with him.

Fitz closed his eyes as various flashbacks flooded his head. Not this again, he thought.

"Do they know it was me?" Fitz asks Damon.

"I know you killed them. But I'm not sure if they know it was you." Damon answered.

"The fuck you mean-? Fitz was stressed, Damon could see it.

"But they know the girl's details." He confessed.

Fitz looked at him with an expression of horror on his face.

"What? Since when have you known this?" He asked Damon pulling him by his collar.

"Woah, chill bro. I got to know today morning." He replied.

"Do you know her or something?" He asked, apprehensively. Damon feared the answer.

"Yes, she works at my office." Fitz tried to make it sound normal.

"Since when?"

"6 months I got to know recently."

"God, what were the odds" Damon laughed.

Fitz gave him a stare and that made him quiet.

"Look, she's already gone through so much. She doesn't have to know about this. You keep security on her, obviously discreet. She shouldn't know that we're protecting her" Fitz told looking out into the open.

"Why do you care? We can give that girl a new passport and a name and ask her to leave. They'll never get to her and they'll never get to you"

Does he realise what he's saying? Fitz thought.

"I didn't know you were such an idiot" Fitz said annoyed at Damon.

"Just don't let anything happen to her" he said coming close to Damon.

"Whatever you want" Damon replied, cocking his head to the side.

Fitz rubbed his face with his palm and walked to his car.

He debated whether he should tell Olivia, but then if he does she would know too much.

He couldn't compromise his identity, no matter what.

He just hopes those men don't get to her.

Explanation :

(So, when Fitz father disowned him 10 years ago for unknown reasons, he met Remi,who did small illegal work for people. Fitz and Remi got together and built an empire on drugs, weapons etc. Remi was pissed when Fitz wanted to leave suddenly and Fitz left two years ago from present. And the incident with Olivia happened a year ago, where he apparently killed Remi's men who molested Olivia. Crazy timelines, i know)


	9. Chapter 9

**Fitz**

Two weeks have passed since Fitz got to know that Remi's men know about Olivia. He's not able to let that thought go away. He's sure that his men will protect her but he gets this nagging feeling that something might go wrong.

He's unable to focus on any work with this in his head, so he does what he can do best to ignore his thoughts. He takes a swig of scotch at 10 AM in the morning.

He walks to the huge glass wall separating him and the city and stares at it. Concrete jungle, it is. The alcohol clouds his senses as he closes his eyes. He doesn't want to start a war, not at this stage in his life.

He sits back on his chair and leans back. He feels tired, mentally. He squeezes his eyes shut and he hears a knock on his door. He opens his eyes, annoyed. Just when he was able to get some peace, somebody had to interrupt.

"Come in"

In walked his assistant, Emma.

"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you but I just wanted you to confirm the staff for the Paris trip." She said nervously, as she handed over the file to him.

"I'll look at it" he said.

Emma wanted him to confirm it right now, so that she could begin the preparations, but he looked annoyed today and she didn't want to push his buttons. He was always a man of less words.

"Okay, sir" she said as she nervously walked out. She had started to work for Fitz since the day he became the CEO.

Fitz looked at the file and exhaled. He hated all this work. If he delayed it further, he would get more irritated so he picked up the file, he just wanted to get done with it.

He opened the file and saw the list of names. Around 9 people were going to accompany him to the conference in Paris. And his company was the chair heading it. The conference would be followed by a gala dinner, where businessmen, politicians, film stars, models etc were going to be there. It was the same shit he'd seen all this life.

He was surprised when he saw the name in the end.

"Stacy Becker accompanied by Olivia Pope."

Oh.

So, she's coming. He thought.

One way he doesn't have to worry about her security because she would be with him. Especially at this time when Remi's men are close to finding her whereabouts.

He called Damon and informed him about the development. "You're taking her with you? Woah. You know it's just a girl, we can provide her good security" the teasing didn't go unnoticed.

"I am not taking her. Her department head decided for her to come" Fitz said, annoyed. Damon makes up shit out of nowhere.

"Yeah yeah alright" Damon laughed.

"Do you need an extra team?" He asked, more seriously this time.

"No, the usual will do. Brief them about protecting Olivia"

"Yes." Damon said.

Fitz cut the call and wondered what fate had in store for him. As much as he tried to distance himself from her, she kept coming back into his life.

 **Olivia**

Olivia couldn't believe her ears.

She's going to Paris?

This is probably the most exciting thing that has happened in her life so far, to be honest. She's never been out of the country and her first place of visit will be Paris! She was internally excited but being a introvert, she never showed her feelings.

"Woah. Thank you" she managed this say with a bright smile.

"Now that's a smile that doesn't look forced" Stacy commented.

Olivia cringed at that statement.

"Relax, I'm joking"

"Stacy?"

"Yeah"

Olivia hesitated and fidgeted with her fingers as she prepared herself to ask Stacy this question.

"Why did you pick me? I mean, there are more senior people in the department"

Stacy smirked and answered.

"Well, to be honest, you're weird" Stacy said making Olivia raise her eyebrows.

How was that a reason to go to Paris?

"You've been working here, what 6 months now?" Olivia modded.

"You never called in sick, you've never been late. I haven't seen you do anything other than work, you don't socialise, you hate being around people, you do your work well expect for that blunder few weeks ago, but"

Olivia felt like somebody was reading out her whole life. She felt uncomfortable.

Stacy noticed it and mellowed down.

"Long story short. You're a good employee and you deserve it"

Olivia didn't know how to react. Stacy was known for being sarcastic, even when she praised her she mocked her. But that's how Stacy was.

Olivia just smiled in response.

"We're leaving next week, finish all the work by then."

Stacy gave her a sheet which contained the details of all the documents required to fly.

"Stacy, I've never been to a different country before"

"Oh that won't be a problem. It's a business visa, it'll be processed easily and you underestimate the power this company holds" she says it all in one breath.

"Get me your documents tomorrow" Stacy says before Olivia leaves.

"And Olivia!"

"Yes, Stacy?"

"You'll need a gown and three cocktail dresses atleast. Everything else, your wish" she says.

"Thank you for telling me this" Olivia nods seriously. If Stacy hadn't told her, she wouldn't be prepared and it would be ruckus there. Now she has a clear idea of what to pack etc.

Olivia is excited, for the first time in a long time.

Olivia reached home after finishing her work early. She had to fish out her documents which were probably buried in some corner of her house.

She opened the door to see Richard sitting on the sofa watching television.

"Hey" said turning back to face her.

"Hey" she says as she puts the keys on the table next to the door. She removes her coat and places it on the dining table chair as she walks to him.

She sits down next to Richard as he puts an arm around her neck and pulls her closer. Olivia smiles warmly at him.

"I'm going to Paris" she says.

"What?" He asks surprised.

"Company visit. There's a conference and a huge gala and stuff. You're okay right?"

Richard still needed a moment to process.

"Yeah yeah"

"When are you leaving?" He asked.

"Next week" she says.

"Hmmm" he says as he stares at her longer than usual. A naughty smile creeps up at the corner of his lips, he kisses her passionately.

His hands move to her bra underneath her shirt, they reach behind as he struggles to remove it.

"Richard I have a lot of work" Olivia says and gently pushes him away and gets up.

Richard gives her an annoyed look, she just sighs in response and leaves to go to her room.

She hears the main door shut loudly in a bang and she knows Richard has gone out. She sighs, exhausted. She knows she's depriving him, but she can't help it. She ignores her thoughts as she says "not now" to herself.

Olivia starts picking out the documents from the drawer inside the closet. She arranges them neatly in a file and cross checks them once again.

She decided to go shopping tomorrow. The last time she went shopping was months ago, she doesn't even remember when. But she can't be underdressed for these events. She'll be mingling with a lot of important people and she'll be representing the company, she cannot screw it up. She had to look the part. Honestly she was excited about buying new clothes, this was so unlike her. She didn't go out or spend much so salary has piled up to a good amount, she didn't have to worry about spending on her clothes too.

NEXT DAY

Olivia walked into Stacey's office with her documents. Stacy smiled at her and pointed to the desk. Olivia placed her documents and walked away to her cubicle to get started with her work.

"Paris huh?" Jake popped up out of nowhere.

"Yes" Olivia sheepishly replied. He stared at her for a few seconds as if admiring her and then said, "well you deserve it. I hope you have lots of fun" he says and walks away.

Olivia smiles as she nods at him and gets back to work.

She had a lot of work today, so she had to skip lunch to finish, she almost had to skip her smoke break but she couldn't do that. She needed a release or a stress buster.

And then here she was walking out of her cubicle for a quick smoke. This time she decided to ditch the smoking room and head to the terrace garden on the next floor. Jake took her once last week and showed her this corner to smoke and she loved it. It was a huge expanse of area overlooking the city. It was turned into a beautiful garden with sitting benches and even a tiny waterfall and an artificial pond around it. It was truly beautiful.

She stood admiring that. She sparked her cigarette and took the first puff.

 **Fitz**

Fitz was on the phone when he noticed a slender woman with short brown hair sitting alone puffing on a cigarette starting at the waterfall.

It was her.

He looked at her longer than he should've. Why did she look prettier to him today? Her hair blew slowly over her face,her face looked fresh with very less make up. He saw the glint in her eyes as she admired the fountain.

"Hello, sir?" The man on the phone spoke, causing Fitz to quit staring. What was wrong with him? He forgot he was on a call.

He turned away from her and continued to speak. After five minutes when the call got over he turned back to see nobody there.

Why did he even care? He wondered and cursed himself for taking Damon's words a little too seriously.

He walked back to his office. He was supposed to take the day off today to spend time with his daughter and he was already annoyed that he couldn't do that. Now his plan was to get done with work before her school finishes so he could pick her up from school and spend the rest of the day with her. He also had to remind Mellie about the Paris trip. She refused to come citing some reason and he didn't bother asking her again.

 **Olivia**

"I'm done with my work, can I leave?" Olivia asked Stacy.

Stacy looked at her surprised like why are you asking me ?

"Why are you asking me that? If you're done you leave, like everybody else, everyday" Stacy reminded.

Olivia stood there and chuckled. It was so awkward.

A few more awkward seconds passed by.

Stacy looked up from her desk "What do you want Olivia?"

"This is so dumb, but I need a very very small help. If you don't mind" she added.

"Don't ask me for money, cause I'm not giving anybody any money." Stacy said, as though traumatised by some past experience.

"No no no. So...umm...I'm going shopping today...as I need new clothes...is it okay, if I send you pictures of what I want to buy so that I buy you know..appropriately" by the time she finished the sentence, Olivia was sure Stacy would be pissed and probably fire here, but all she did was laugh.

"Oh god, of course. Send them to me, I'll help you select."

Olivia smiled at her and said "Thank you so much"

Stacy replied before shaking her head and giggling probably going "silly girl".

But Olivia was relived. She had literally no friends to help her out and it took a lot of courage to ask Stacy for help. Stacy had been surprisingly warm to her in the past few weeks. She even joined Olivia for a few smokes during breaks last week. Stacy was 34,married with a five year old boy. She told all of this to Olivia while enjoying a smoke with her. She joked and laughed making Olivia feel at ease.

Stacy was two positions higher than Olivia. But nowadays, they both began to get slightly more informal. But she still hopes she hasn't crossed major boundaries by asking her for help with the clothes.

She took her bag, went to the ground floor via the elevator and exited the building.

Olivia hailed a cab and told him to go to the shopping mall.

 **Hey, I know some of you might wonder about unreliatisc stuff like why does the CEO have to approve staff, why did Olivia ask help for a small thing from her marketing head, it isnt profesisonal and all that. I just want to remimd you that its a fiction obviously, and everything happens in my overworked brain, so no logic lol sorry.**


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey, I hope I'm not late" Olivia said as she dragged her suitcase up to where Stacy was standing.

The day had finally come to depart to Paris. Olivia was genuinely excited for the first time in her life! She didn't look like it, but she was.

"Nah, you're right on time" Stacy said looking at Olivia. Olivia wore a comfortable yet decent pair of black leggings, a white t-shirt and black jacket on top of that. Her hair was left open, her eyes were covered by tinted glasses and she had light make up on. Olivia felt awkward as Stacy checked her out.

"You look good in casuals, it's totally your thing" Stacy commented. Olivia didn't know if it was a compliment or Stacy made a remark on her attire being too casual.

Stacy noticed Olivia's confused face and to ease the poor girl's tension she said "It's a compliment, jeez" rolling her eyes.

Olivia chuckled as Stacy laughed.

They did their security check, handed over their luggage. Olivia noticed that their checks and luggage drop ins were not happening with the normal crowd. They were in a private area. She looked around wondering when Stacy interjected her thoughts. "Brace yourself, we're going on a private plane. The company's" she added.

Olivia's jaw dropped,well mentally.

Woah, private plane? That's cool, she thought. She became extremely nervous and cautious that she would be in a compact space now. Atleast better than a commercial flight sitting with strangers, she thought.

Olivia was excited and thrilled when they finally pulled up to a majestic private plane on the runway. She was glad she was selected for this trip, she was experiencing a lot of new things.

Stacy and Olivia climbed into the plane through the door near the rear of the aircraft. Just when Olivia was about to board the place, she turned to see boarding from the door near the head of the plane. He was talking over the phone, he seemed to be in a busy conversation almost annoyed that he couldn't hear properly because of the noise.

She walked into the aircraft and if she could be more surprised, she was. Everything was so plush and luxurious. She even wondered if this was the right place for them. She saw Stacy and other people accompanying her,take their seats and she sat next to Stacy.

The plane took off in the next fifteen minutes as Olivia picked up a magazine and started reading.

Once they were in the air, she reclined her seat back and got comfortable. She removed her jacket and placed it on a small shelf next to her seat. She saw one of the guys was already asleep, others were either on their phones or chatting. Stacy was on her laptop, working.

Nine people were accompanying the CEO to Paris on this business trip. It was one of the most important conferences, Olivia knew. And she was grateful for this experience. She smiled a little to herself and was lost in her own world when she heard someone say "champagne"

"Ma'am, would you like some champagne?" A pretty air hostess asked standing near her.

She looked at Stacy who already had a glass for herself and she nodded. The woman poured her a glass of champagne and left. Olivia looked around to see that few except for Stacy accompanying them were chit-chatting, enjoying with a bottle of wine.

Stacy closed her laptop, as if to drink her liquor in peace.

"So, is it fine?" Olivia asked, showing her glass.

Stacy made an expression like "why not?"

"I thought, you know we were on the company aircraft, like we can't drink or something" Olivia said, seriously.

Stacy chuckled and said "One thing about working for this company, is flexible enjoyment policies" she said as she took a sip from her glass.

Olivia smiled in amusement and took a sip herself. Well, this won't be that long of a flight then. She can get a buzz and then doze off. She was glad!

Olivia and Stacy joined into a conversation the others were having. They enjoyed talking about the company, their work with adequate wine complimenting their conversation.

Olivia didn't talk much, but she listened to everything, whatever they had to say. She enjoyed the company, weirdly. Because Olivia was not a person who liked to make conversation, she kept to herself.

Amidst all the laughter and giggles they didn't realise it was dinner time until the hostess announced. They all had comfortable, delicious meals.

After a full stomach, everybody was tired and reclined their seats to the point they were flat enough to sleep. Olivia did the same. They were to land in Paris at seven in the morning, so if she could get some sleep, she would be fresh tomorrow and possibly avoid the annoying jet lag.

Fitz sat there with a glass of scotch on the table in front of him. He kept staring into space. He saw Olivia board the jet, reminding him once again that she would be around him the next few days. He couldn't help but let his mind wander over the details of their encounter, no matter how disgustingly real they were. Just when he thought of her tear-stricken face, those torn clothes she was desperately trying to cover her body from, he felt terrible and closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

He didn't know why but it mattered so much to him, that if he wasn't there that night, what could've happened? It's scary, it's bone chilling. Fitz had seen the worst of humanity in his line of work but, that incident, with her is something he could never forget. He didn't know why he cared so much. It was borderline creepy, he realised when he found himself thinking about her again and again. And the fact that right now she was just a door away didn't help either. He wondered if she was fine...she would be, he thought.

He wasn't getting any sleep, so he drank the rest of the scotch in his glass at once hoping that in a while his senses would feel heavy and sleep would envelope him. Till that came, he opened his laptop to distract himself with work.

Almost, as if fate had planned all this, he heard some movement from the door. He saw the door knob turning again and again three times until it stopped. He was in a private chamber on the plane. It had a bed, a small sofa, table and a small closet to hang clothes, apart from other amenities.

He looked at it curiously, he got up and when he reached it, it turned again. He always thought the worst of the situation, because that's all he'd seen in his life. Thing may look perfect in one second and then it may all go to hell the next second.

He approached the door slowly, careful not to make any sound. He could hear the blood gushing through his veins. His rational mind told him repeatedly that it was nothing but he always was prepared for the worst.

He put his palm around the door knob and waited for exactly three seconds before he turned it around and opened the door suddenly, wanting to startle anybody in front of him, and he definitely did.

There was Olivia, panic all over her face ready to scream when he pulled her towards himself and closed her mouth with his palm. She was against the wall of his room, the door was closed. It was just them and their hearts out of rhythm.

He let go in a second and moved away but gestured her to stay quiet. To his surprise she was fine, she was only startled by the door stunt not by him. He was glad, he didn't mean to hurt her, never.

"I'm so sorry, I ...got paranoid I guess" he confessed and immediately regretted it. It must've sounded so weird, he thought.

"Are you okay?" He asked her softly this time. Her breathing was still ragged, they were dead close to each other given the space was compact already.

"Yeah. I'm so sorry, I didn't know..this was your...your" she looked around and didn't know what to call it. A room? She didn't know. She was too embarrassed already.

"It's fine, I should apologise. I got worried who was turning my door knob so aggressively" he chuckled to lighten the mood.

She was embarrassed and just gave him a small smile. He realised he stared at the blush on her cheeks longer than he should have.

"I was just trying to find the bathroom. This place is confusing" she said with a nervous giggle.

"Oh, you can use mine" Fitz said as he pointed to a small silver door opposite to where they were standing.

"Oh...no, I'll be fine, thank you, that is very kind..umm...but I'm sure there's one outside I probably didn't see clearly" she said, she hated herself for talking to casually, or so ...you know, like she was nervous. She hated being nervous but that's how she was. And Fitz made her more nervous, something about his persona, it excited and scared her.

"Really, it's no problem. You can use mine" he said, this time more assertive and Olivia looked at him before she nodded and walked to the washroom in his room.

Fitz's lips curved into a small smile, almost unnoticeable as he saw her retreating figure. But he was bothered about how she was around him. She was nervous, he should do something about it.

Wait, what?

Why should I do something about it? Why the fuck do I give a fuck? He thought and dismissed his thoughts by shaking his head, as if his thoughts would fly out and never bother him again.

He sat back on his sofa and grabbed his laptop again. He tried not to think about the fact that she was in his washroom just a few feet away.

Few minutes later, she walked out, her body language stiff , the embarrassment and anxiety still evident.

"Thank you, and I'm so sorry again, for disturbing you" she said standing right in front of him as she played with her fingers.

Fitz got up and gave her a warm smile and said "It was no problem, Olivia"

"Good night" he added.

"Good night" she replied as he saw her ease out and her nerves seemed to be down. She gave him a smile, an actual blown out smile, the smile that seemed genuine and from the heart. He felt something warm spread across his body when he saw her smile. He gulped and gave her a tight lipped nod before she excused herself out.

After she went, he stood there with his arms crossed. He was acting like an immature teenage boy, he could feel it.

Olivia walked back to her seat slowly,not making any noise. She sat back and pulled up her blanket to her chest. She could still hear her heart beating loudly. She saw the bottle with some left over champagne, she poured it into her glass and took a swig.

She had stared to realise that being around Fitz was affecting her. Not negatively, her mind immediately reminded. It was a mix of strange comfort and a fear of the unknown.

God how badly she wanted to smoke right now, it would really help her clear her thoughts. She let a frustrated sigh escape her lips and closed her eyes after she felt the alcohol give her a soft buzz.

She closed her eyes and curled up her knees as sleep slowly took over.


	11. Chapter 11

**Longer than my usual updates. Enjoy. :)**

 **Really loved writing this chapter, would love to hear your thoughys, sk dont forget to comment. :)**

 **(sorry for any errors)**

Her first day in Paris, Olivia was excited. Their flight landed early in the morning. She still felt groggy and sleepy, so had no memory of the ride from the airport to the hotel, she remembers passing out in the car too, earning a few chuckles from the others. She didn't know why, she felt reaching the hotel, she checked into her room. It was a beautiful room, with a king size bed occupying the central area. She remembers entering her room, looking at the bed and just plopping down on it.

Her phone rang mercilessly as she woke up in a brisk, terrified as to what had happened. And she realised, it was just the alarm music. She really needs to change that, she made a mental note. That music was sure to give her a heart attack someday.

She fell back lazily onto her bed and rolled to face the ceiling. She picked up her phone to see that it was 8AM. She was to meet everybody else at 10AM at the hotel lobby. Thankfully the conference was in the same hotel itself, she didn't have to worry about getting late.

A makeshift office had been set up just for

They had a lot to catch up on, meet a few international clients before the conference day after tomorrow.

Today was mostly paperwork or Olivia. She groaned thinking about it. Mostly paperwork, then she had to update the company website with the new pictures, etc from this week's activities. Other than that, she had to observe, the workings of an establishment of this sort. And this was also an opportunity to build relations, meet new people, for connections, the one thing every other employee accompanying her was interested in. But she was not. She was comfortable in her zone, in her job. She wanted to stay away from people as much as possible and stick to Stacy maybe, because she is the only person she knew well.

Olivia got up from her bed, feeling a little energised after planning the day in her head. She was so glad that most of her work would get over before sunset and she couldn't wait to relax in her room with a glass of wine. She got internally excited when she saw the balcony her room had, giving her a beautiful view of the street. She walked out and lit up a cigarette, that is something she didn't forget to buy.

She took in the beautiful morning. The weather was pleasant, it wasn't very sunny, there was a cool morning breeze and everything just seemed magical. Or maybe she felt it because it was her first time out of the country.

After stubbing the cigarette in an ashtray she started unpacking her luggage and arranging all her clothes, accessories and other necessities.

She took a quick shower and dried and styled her hair.

She picked a simple outfit for today.

She knew she would be behind a computer and so nobody would notice much. She opted to forgo the pencil skirt and wore formal pants, with a white blouse. She wore her signature black high heels and left her hair open, in soft curls. She proceeded to apply some light make up, just to accentuate those cheekbones, some mascara and nude lipstick. She wore small white studs and she was done. She picked up her phone and stuffed some necessary things into her bag. She left the room with her bag and files.

She reached down to the designated area, which was turned into an office.

She knew she was early, so she didn't expect anybody in the place. She was surprised to see there, dressed in an impeccable suit, looking fresh as ever as he leaned against the edge of a table busy examining the file in his hands.

The clanking of heels caught his attention and he looked up to see her, and could feel his heart skip a beat.

He did not know why that happened.

She wished him a good morning and so did he.

"Did you have breakfast? You're quite early" he enquired.

Breakfast totally skipped Olivia's head.

"Oh shit, no" she said, before thinking words flew out of her mouth, which she immediately regretted. She had just casually cursed infront of her company CEO. _Fuck_.

Fitz laughed loudly at the expression on her face, easing Olivia's nerves and she smiled embarrassed.

"Go have Breakfast " he teased.

"Yes" she said as she looked down and turned around to go to the breakfast area. As she walked, there was a silly grin on her face.

Fitz looked at her retreating figure longer than he should have. Something was happening to him, and he couldn't ignore it.

Olivia met Stacy and the others and joined their table for breakfast. There was a buffet, and she opted for some fruit. She never had a big appetite and got full easily. But looking at those hot cinnamon buns, she could feel her stomach gurgle and grabbed one and ate and it was delicious. She explored more and ate a little more than she normally would.

She realised it was a bad idea to gorge on food when she began to get up and could feel her stomach so heavy. Stacy chuckled looking at Olivia. Olivia too laughed, touching her stomach which was surely protruding out just a little because of all the food she had consumed.

It was 10mins to 10AM when she reached the office area and now Olivia could see Fitz sitting in a separate cubicle, with glass on all sides.

He saw her and gave her a silly smile. She smiled too feeling conscious and embarrassed about the morning. She didn't know why she noticed that he looked so good when he smiled, like his whole face lit up, his eyes twinkled.

Olivia was surprised to be thinking about him in that way and mentally shushed her brain. She went to her table and started with her work.

It didn't help Fitz one bit seeing that she was at a table near his cubicle, facing him. He could see her expressions change as she read her files and made notes. She would frown at something, she would smile a little at a few things, he found himself looking at her again and again. It got so distracting for him that he literally walked out to get some fresh air because he truly wasn't feeling right about all this.

He cursed Damon for insinuating something out of this and putting ideas into his head.

He seriously needed to get a grip on himself. He would never ever make a move on Olivia. She did not deserve this. She deserved better. And also, she has a boyfriend, he reminded himself.

Why the hell was he even thinking about making a move on her? Fitz felt annoyed at thinking that way. He decided to ignore his thoughts and stop looking at her once he was inside.

Olivia noticed him catching a few glances at her, which first she brushed away thinking it wasn't her he was looking at. But their eyes met for a brief moment and he immediately looked away, and she was sure he was looking at her.

She could feel the heat on her cheeks. Why the hell was she liking this? Something was definitely wrong with her.

Before she realised, the day was over and she was glad. She could just light up a cigarette and chill in her balcony with some wine.

She gathered her belongings and held the files in one hand and the her handbag in the other. She was about to leave when she saw Stacy walk in. She was away the whole day meeting clients on behalf of the company, she looked exhausted.

"Hey" Olivia smiled.

"Hey, where are you going?" Stacy asked.

"Umm...the room" Olivia said.

"No way, we're going out for drinks" Stacy said standing with her hands on her hips.

"But aren't you tired? You were working out all day" Olivia said sympathetically.

"Nah. I'm used to this. In fact, I need a drink after the day I've had" she chuckled.

"Alright." Olivia said.

"Meet me in the lobby in 30mins. I saw a cute bar across the street, we'll go there" she smiled.

"Okay" Olivia answered.

Olivia went to her room, put down her things, arranged them. She freshened up a bit, smoked a cigarette and popped a mint. She went through her clothes and was wondering what to wear. She decided to wear jeans to make the outfit a little casual, and wore a black off shoulder top.

She teamed the outfit with some boots. She removed her earrings from the morning and wore another pair which were very tiny hoops. She brushed her hair to the side and wore minimal make up with a brown lipstick.

Before leaving, she grabbed her purse and coat as it was beginning to get a little chilly outside. She also had a scarf.

She reached the lobby and waited for Stacy. As soon as Stacy arrived, they left.

"You look good. I like your top" Stacy complimented.

"Thank you. You look good too" Olivia replied, shyly, she did not know how to react to compliments or even give a compliment. But she felt nice that Stacy appreciated her, she was glad she bought some new clothes for the grip.

As expected, the weather was cold and Olivia hugged her coat closer to her body. They crossed the road and reached the bar after around six minutes of walking.

Stacy and Olivia decided to sit by the bar. They removed their coats and settled down.

"So, how was your day?" Stacy asked.

Olivia sipped on her drink and answered "nothing much, actually."

"Oh my god, you do not want to listen to mine" Stacy cribbed.

Not waiting for Olivia's response Stacy began.

"Uhh-the most irritating client. He wanted a new detail every minute. It was very annoying to stay calm and accommodate his every need. God." She said all in one breath.

Olivia listened sympathetically.

"So, Olivia, tell me about yourself"

Olivia felt incredibly uneasy about that question.

"Umm..me? Ummm"

Stacy saw the anxiety on Olivia's face. She instantly softened and said "so, tell me about this hot chef you're dating" she said giggling.

Olivia eases out a little. She could talk about Richard, that was no problem. That reminded her, she forgot to call him. She made a mental note to call him after sometime and sent him a quick message. He didn't even know her local number otherwise he would've called her.

"Richard, right" Olivia laughed.

"I saw him the other day when he came to pick you up and I was like woah" Stacy said as though in a trance.

"Yes, he's great" Olivia said, looking into her drink.

"So how did you guys meet?" Stacy asked as she ordered for some food to go with the drinks.

Olivia chuckled at the memory of meeting Richard. It was hilarious, actually.

"It was around 2-2.5 years ago. I went out on a date with this guy. We went to a fancy restaurant and he was just so fussy about his food. He sent back two dishes, he was constantly complaining about some ingredients in his dish or something. Honestly it was so trivial"

"God that is awful" Stacy said.

"Yeah, then when the second dish was sent back, the chef was annoyed and he came and voila, its Richard" Olivia laughed.

Stacy looked at Olivia as she was seeing her laugh and joke around for the first time. She knew there was a story behind those sad eyes, those anxious fingers, but she knew she could not force Olivia to open up.

"And Richard told him off. He(Richard) was really annoyed. I feel bad to this day for enjoying that scene. I have to be honest, the guy I went on a date with, he was blowing things out of proportion with the food, so like I didn't defend him. I just sat there."

Stacy laughed imagining the scene.

"Then?"

"Then, the guy wanted us both to leave and I told him I want to stay, cause I hadn't finished my pasta and trust me the pasta was delicious."

Stacy couldn't stop laughing at this.

"Poor guy, Olivia" Stacy teased. Olivia rolled her eyes and laughed.

"And that's how I met Richard" Olivia, said as she looked at the second glass of a cocktail in her hand. She realises how much things had changed since then. She and Richard were so happy before, so playful, like best friends and now, the relationship was just formal. Before her heads takes her into a never ending spiral of thoughts, Stacy interrupted.

"Shots!"

"What?"

"We gotta do shots"

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea" Olivia said.

"Oh my god, of course it is. But, before that I need to use the washroom" Stacy joked and went to the washroom.

Olivia turned to her phone and called Richard. She told the bartender she would be back in a few minutes as she left her purse there.

She waited for him to pick up.

"Hey Richard"

"Hey, Liv. What's up?"

Oliviawas surprised. She honestly was scared he would scream at her for not calling the minute she landed, or would be worried, but he didn't seem bothered.

"Hey, I just called to check in on you. I mean, I forgot to call once I landed, I was tired and then I had to go work...so...you know"

"That's alright. Are you alright there?" He asked

"Yeah yeah, no problem."

"Did you have dinner?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah, I'm actually going out with my friends for dinner. I got a day off today.." he said.

"Oh. Have fun then. I came out with Stacy for drinks. I should be going back to the hotel soon"

"Alright. You have fun too. Stay safe and text me" he said.

Olivia cut the call and fell into a deep thought. Woah, their relationship really had changed.

She went back to the bar only to see Stacy talking and laughing with another guy. He was tall and handsome.

"Olivia, guess what?"

"Meet my French ex-boyfriend" she slurred.

Olivia looked at them surprised, she didn't know if Stacy was being sarcastic or she was joking. She looked at them curiously.

"I worked in Paris for a year after college, you know." She added. That explains how Stacy knew such good French, she thought.

"Oh, nice. Hi I'm Olivia" she introduced.

"Hi, Olivia. I am Victor" he spoke in accented English.

"I went to the washroom and outside I saw Victor and I screamed" Stacy said. Stacy and Victor seemed more like best friends than exes.

"Yes, I knew it was Stacy from the scream" Victor joked as Stacy laughed.

The three of them laughed, shared jokes, mostly Victor told about all the embarrassing things he had seen Stacy do. They did two rounds of shots in between.

It was 10PM, when Olivia checked her phone. She had an early day tomorrow and she wanted to get some sleep and ever since that phone call with Richard, she was a little off and she needed some time to herself.

"Stacy, I think I should go. I have an early start tomorrow." Olivia said with a sad face.

"Uhh Olivia. Okay, yeah you actually have a lot of work tomorrow" Stacy said in a bossy tone making Olivia chuckle.

"Will you be alright?" Olivia asked.

"Don't worry, I'll walk her to her hotel"

Victor added.

"Yesssss, I will be fineeee" Stacy said stressing on the words as she spoke.

Olivia hugged them both before leaving when she felt Stacy pull her to a side.

"Olivia, I'm so sorry I have a favour to ask."

"Yeah sure, tell me"

"Can you buy me some tampons on the way back. I saw a pharmacy somewhere here."

"Oh,okay, no problem" Olivia smiled.

"Thank you so much. And you'll be alright on your own? If anything give me a call okay." Stacy said as she gave Olivia her local number.

"Yeah I'll be fine" Olivia said hesitantly, whereas in real, the thought of walking on a street alone at this hour in a new country, already made her palms sweaty. She was too embarrassed to back out and say she was scared and also, she felt silly for being scared.

 _"Olivia , you're a big girl and the hotel is literally right outside" she told herself. She desperately tried not to think about the past experience of her walking back home alone. "That was different"_ she tried to convince herself as she could already feel her heart beat faster as she stepped out into the cold night.

She put her scarf around her neck and tugged at her coat tighter and looked around to see if there was any pharmacy around.

She saw a plus sign a little far away behind her and walked towards it.

As she neared it, she realised this part of the street didn't have a light and the pharmacy was actually farther than she thought it was. She decided to apologise to Stacy and just head back to the hotel, but she felt extremely stupid so she with a deep breath she walked towards it.

The number of people reduced to none, the visibility was poor and Olivia could feel her hands shiver.

" _This is a bad idea" she thought._

Just when she said that, she saw a man walking towards her. At first she ignored it, but now she was sure it was her he was looking at. With menacing eyes, he looked only at her.

Fear, panic set into her system and she turned around and started to walk back to the hotel. She could feel the sweat on her forehead, as she walked as fast as she could.

She realised he was close and the hotel was still far away. They were no people in sight, the road was empty. The whole situation felt weird and eerie and horribly familiar.

 **Fitz**

"She left the bar alone. She was heading to a pharmacy we believe, but now she's walking back to the hotel. It seems like someone's following her."

"What? It seems like? What the fuck are you doing?"

"Sir the man maybe harmless, we have our men in place if anything happens and we have our eyes on her. Nothing is going to happen"

Fitz cut the call and immediately walked out of the restaurant he was having a drink at.

If she were walking back to the hotel, then she knew she was being followed. God, he can only imagine how she must be feeling right now. He ran desperately through a street and he could finally see her.

He walked towards her and saw the man following her behind. This is was no harmless man. He knew it.

Olivia didn't notice Fitz in front of her. She turned back to see the man still following her and she began to run, only to run into what she thought was a wall but instantly recognised it to be a man.

She thought she would faint due to the fear.

She immediately moved back and looked at the man in front and immediately sighed in relief.

 _It was him._

 _Thank god. It was him._

Fitz saw the fear on her face, replaced by relief. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, she was panting.

Fitz was apprehensive but he stepped forward and placed his hands on the sides of her arm.

"Olivia, are you okay?" He asked, as though he coincidently met her.

Olivia was still a little disoriented.

"Umm..yes..."

He came closer to her and his hand almost went up to cup her face before he realised what he was doing.

"What are you doing out here alone? It's late" he asked so gently.

She was lost in him for a second, she could see he cared.

"I had to get something from the pharmacy" she said, she decided not to tell about the man following her. It was probably nothing. Maybe she was just being paranoid. But she wasn't sure about him because it was weird that he disappeared the minute Fitz appeared out of nowhere. But she was too scared to care right now, and was more than thankful for Fitz's presence.

"Let's go to the pharmacy then" he smiled.

"Oh no, that wouldn't be necessary. You don't have to do that"

"I insist" he said.

Olivia nodded and they began to walk next to each other. Olivia was better now, knowing that he was here. She felt safe and secure. Fitz noticed that she walked closer to him and he felt bad just imagining what she must be going through. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't want to look like he pitied her. Was he sympathetic to her? Yes. That was before. But now, ever since he saw her again, there is something about her, that he just can't stay away. He realised he was developing feelings for her when he dashed out of the restaurant to see her safe. He knew his men won't let anything, anything happen to her. But it was a reflex, just the thought of her being in danger scared him so much that he just couldn't control.

This was not good for him. He sighed as he looked at her from the corner of his eye. She was so beautiful, her skin glowing under the faint luminesce of a nearby street light. He couldn't help but look at her plump lips, still quivering a little and he thought of one way to stop it and then chided himself for being such a creep. _Stop thinking about kissing her, you creep. His inner voice judged._

Olivia and Fitz went to the pharmacy, where she bought the tampons. She felt safe knowing that she didn't have to walk back to her hotel alone. She was worried about staying alone in the room tonight. She wasn't worried about that before, but after what happened she knew she won't get sleep due to her paranoia.

Fitz tried but failed to not look at her. He could clearly see she was dressed in a casual pair of jeans and black off shoulder top that was body hugging. Her coat was unbuttoned and he glanced at the curves that adorned her petite body. He looked away Immediately.

As Olivia got done she smiled at him and joined him to walk back.

"There's another way back to the hotel. It's well lit and filled with restaurants" he said as he guided her.

He was right, the whole place was brimming with people, laughter, food and drinks.

Olivia instantly eased out and smiled as she looked around. The whole place looked beautiful.

Fitz noticed the smile on her face making him smile too. He always knew she had a beautiful smile. But he was relieved to see, her fear and anxiety come down.

"Hey, Olivia?"he asked.

" "

Fitz rolled his eyes at her. "Oh for god's sake stop with the , Call me Fitz" he cribbed like a child making Olivia smile a little.

"That wouldn't be appropriate-"

"Outside the office, then. You can me Fitz, outside the office" he said.

"Okay" she said.

"Okay" he smiled.

"Do you want some gelato?" He asked.

Olivia looked at him surprised. It was cold and this man wanted to eat ice cream.

"It's so cold" she said, and Fitz got lost in her for a second cause she looked hella cute when she said that.

"You can drink coffee then, because I want my ice cream" he said. He couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. He was being ... _so nice? Fitz was a lot of things, but he wasn't nice. God save him, he thought._

Olivia chuckled as she saw a grown man crave ice cream like a child. Fitz, that too. He looked so cold and distant on the outside, but this side she didn't know existed. To think he had killed people.

"Okay, I'll drink coffee"

"Alright then" he smiled and Olivia surely didn't miss how handsome he looked when he smiled. She instantly looked down as she could feel her cheeks heat up.

They then walked and bought his ice cream first and then went to another cafe to get coffee. Fitz paid though Olivia protested.

Then they settled on a nearby bench away from all the crowd. Fitz was internally happy to see that she wasn't sitting very far from him. Their arms were almost touching as he ate his ice cream and she drank her coffee.

Neither said anything.

This was peace.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for any errors. Enjoy.**

"Ice cream? Ice cream Fitz?" Damon screamed, ending with a big laugh.

Fitz rolled his eyes at his friend, who was making a scene.

Damon had come to Paris to meet Fitz and then head to London, where his next assignment was.

"What's wrong with me eating ice cream?" Fitz scoffed, annoyed at the silly debate that was happening.

Damon looked at him and smirked.

"You're so fucked" he said, looking at him seriously.

"You're protecting her for god knows what reason, you're about to restart a war with Remi, you're eating ice cream with her now..." he went on, causing Fitz to yell to shut him up.

"What's the big deal?" Fitz said massaging his forehead. This useless conversation was getting on his nerves.

"The big deal is you and I are screaming at each other for some random girl" Damon said, with another teasing smirk which annoyed the shit out of Fitz.

"You're so fucked" Damon said and walked out of the room.

Well, one thing Damon was right about is that Fitz truly is fucked. Olivia was driving him nuts. He didn't understand why he cared so much about her. He realised it was better for him and for her if he maintained some distance from her.

It was going to be hard, given that, he will see her everyday from morning to evening, and today there was a gala hosted in his honor by one of his ex-client's. Fitz being the businessman that he is, obliged because he knew this was another fertile ground of brimming future clients and projects.

Fitz sighed and rubbed his palms over his face. It was 7 AM in the morning. Damon came to meet him at 6AM and he just wouldn't let the ice cream thing with Olivia go.

Was it really that big of a deal? He thought harder. Was it wrong to care? Given the circumstances they met, was it wrong ? No. It was natural, to care for someone right? Especially when you've seen their most terrifying and vulnerable moments, it makes an impression on you. It's not easy to forget, it's not easy to forget what they went through and wonder what they might be going through. It's natural to care, _right?_ This was Fitz's argument with Damon.

But the problem was, Fitz wasn't the person who gave a shit. He wasn't the person who would go after someone and ask them if they were okay. He wasn't a savior, he was a killer. A ruthless, heartless, remorseless killer.

Lately, he'd found himself second guessing things,which was not something he ever did. Lately, he was being dreamy, lately he would zone out thinking about stuff. Something's changed and Fitz's afraid he may know the reason.

Worse, he may _like_ the reason.

 **Olivia**

Olivia woke up a little early today and decided to use the gym in the hotel. It was Stacy's idea for a workout after all the food they'd eaten yesterday. Olivia wasn't really a gym person, but with nothing else to do, she agreed to Stacy's plan.

Olivia was glad she packed a pair of sportswear just in case. She wanted to be prepared for things like this. And Stacy also told her there would be a gym in the hotel and how glad she was for it.

Olivia got ready and before leaving the room, she took her phone,earphones,a bottle of water and a hand towel. She walked to the nearest elevator and headed to the gym which was a few floors above.

She hooked her earphones and scrolled through her playlist to play music. The elevator directly opened to the reception area to the gym where she gave her name and room number and walked inside.

She was glad there weren't a lot of people when she looked initially. She saw Stacy wall out of the ladies washroom and wave at her.

"Hey, morning" Olivia said.

"Hi" Stacy chirped.

45 minutes in and Olivia was dead tired. She was seriously not a work out person.

Stacy laughed at Olivia's lack of stamina. Olivia laughed along too, telling her how sore she already felt all over. But the best part was during the past 45 minutes of her life, she was able to forget everything and focus on just herself. For the first time, she did something for herself. She was focused, determined to finish what she had started. She actually enjoyed the session, which she felt was weird.

Exhausted, she went to drink some water from her bottle kept nearby. She opened the bottle and felt relief flood over when she felt the water to touch the insides of her dry mouth. Like a deprived person, she drank fast, she knows she shouldn't but she couldn't help herself from drinking it all at once.

"You know you shouldn't do that. You could choke." She heard that deep voice from behind.

She didn't even have to turn around to see who it was, she already knew.

She turned around to find Fitz shirtless, his tanned muscular chest laced with a layer of sweat over the countless tattoos ingrained into his skin.

Fitz saw Olivia state at him unabashedly. If it was difficult before, it was even worse now.

Olivia felt a warm sensation spread through her body as she felt old, repressed feelings struggling to come to surface. She felt something she hadn't felt in a long time, _desire._

At the revelation of the word in her head, she jumped out of her trance and looked up at him to see him gaze at her with the most unreadable expression on his face. He looked lost too, if that were possible.

She took a step back and felt incredibly shy suddenly at his presence. She was aware that her sports bra gave him a generous peak of her cleavage and she thought she should be embarrassed,but the spark of excitement that lit inside her didn't seem to care.

They smiled and exchanged a few words before Olivia left to join Stacy. She could feel his eyes on her. There she was again in his presence, it was strangely comforting, it felt like coming home.

The interaction between Olivia and Fitz hadn't gone unnoticed by Stacy, who had a curious look on her face. Olivia chose to ignore it and get back to her work out.

Seeing that even Stacy ignored it, but her interest was peaked.

"So what are you wearing today?" Stacy asked breaking the awkward silence between them.

"Uh, I'm not sure. I actually need your help" Olivia confessed.

"Sure. We can both get ready in my room. Will that be alright?" She asked.

"Yeah that would be great!" Olivia smiled and Stacy couldn't help but notice how the smile on Olivia. That girl rarely smiled, even when she did it looked sad and forced. But this, this was a genuine, happy smile. She couldn't help but wonder whether a certain someone's presence had caused the smile.

She had to know more, she thought.

The day went by in a breeze. Today, Fitz had meetings around town and so he wasn't at the office, which disappointed Olivia. She didn't know why she felt excited at the thought of seeing him today at the office.

Olivia got done with her work and took the elevator up to her floor and then went to her room and collapsed on the bed. She didn't realize how tired she actually was, as she dozed off to sleep in minutes.

 **FITZ**

After his second meeting for the day, he met up with his confidant at a local cafe.

"Sir, we did a complete background check. That man was harmless."

Fitz simply nodded as the man elaborated on yesterday's events. Fitz agreed but inside, he knew something was fishy last night. Something about the situation, about that man didn't sit well with Fitz. He wasn't entirely convinced but he chose to ignore it for the moment. If his security detail were sure there was nothing to worry, maybe there wasn't. But he wasn't going to let this go. He had to see for himself how far this thing went.

After his lunch he had two other meetings till he could call it a day. He groaned thinking about the gala tonight. He had to go, no backing out he thought. And also, she would be coming too. A small smile crept on his lips as he thought about today morning. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Olivia in the gym today morning. He was boxing on a sandbag far away from the main area. He saw her when he had taken a break. He'd always seen her in clothes that were slightly baggy or loose always hiding herself. But he couldn't take his eyes off her today, when he saw her in a black sports bra and black pants, her hair tied in a high ponytail.

He almost lost it when he saw her doing squats and immediately looked away, knowing he'd lose his shit if he saw her ass poking out in the air again.

Fitz sat in his car and left for the next meeting, with thoughts of Olivia that refused to let him live in peace.

 **OLIVIA**

Olivia woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. She groaned when she saw that Stacy was calling her.

"Hey" she said, yawning.

"Were you sleeping?" Stacy laughed.

"Yes." Olivia said grumpily.

"Now that you've got your beauty sleep, I think we should start getting ready for the night"

"Alright. I'll be there " Olivia said and rushed to the bathroom, to get a quick shower.

Later, she packed her clothes, make up, jewelry and other stuff in a small bag and walked out to go to Stacy's room. Once inside, they both talked about what to wear, they tried on a few pieces themselves and finally decided on their clothes.

"Trust me, it will look great." Stacy reassured.

Stacy convinced Olivia into wearing a halter neck black long dress, that clung to her body in the right places. It was tied around the back of her neck and was backless. Olivia felt good when she wore it, she thought she looked good. A little apprehensive about it being backless, she decided to give in, because she hadn't dressed up in a long time and today, today she felt like it.

Olivia and Stacy day next to each other infront of the mirror as they styled their hair and did their make up. Stacy was wearing a classy, dark blue gown, Olivia really liked it.

Olivia applied lipstick the color of red wine and left her face as simple as possible. Her eyeliner was on point, mascara enhanced those beautiful eyes and the blush adorned her cheeks as if they weren't externally applied. Her hair was in soft curls swept to one side as she finally looked at herself. She looked entirely different. Her eyes weren't tired or puffy, her fave had a glow, she looked rejuvenated, she wasn't looking at a broken woman, she was looking at someone who seemed content.

She smiled at the reflection. She hadn't felt good about herself for a long time and today she let herself enjoy the reflection staring back at her. She looked like _herself_.

"Woah Olivia, Richard should see you now. I swear" Stacy's mention about Richard brought her back from her bubble as she felt guilty again for not replying to his message he sent a while ago. She completely forgot about it.

Olivia smiled at Stacy and complimented her too, to which Stacy flipped her hair and giggled.

Olivia wore a pair of five inch black heels and she took a small purse which had her phone, some cash and her lipstick.

Stacy opened a bottle of vodka that surprised Olivia. She poured two shots and gave her one.

Olivia looked at her a little apprehensive.

"Oh, come on, this will get us in the mood and surely reduce some of that anxiety I see" she said, smiling knowingly.

Though, Olivia felt confident about herself surprisingly, she still felt awkward about having to be in a room full on strangers.

She took a shot and her face grimaced as the sour liquid burnt her throat. They left the room after that.

The gala was at a far away castle(owned by the man throwing the party)on the outskirts of town. Olivia was excited as hell for it, she'd never seen a castle, let alone be in one. She, Stacy and two others took a car from the hotel. Olivia blushed when the other employees accompanying them gave her a genuine compliment. She learned their names to be Huck and Harrison. They were sweet to her and she didn't mind their company at all.

After a forty minute drive, tall black and gold gates opened to let the car inside a secluded property which was surrounded by tall walls all around. It felt a little creepy to Olivia to be honest. The car stopped and they got out and it was absolutely breathtaking. The castle looked

majestic and bearing, fulfilling its promise to awe to anybody that laid eyes on it. Built entirely in stone, it looked rough around the edges giving it a charm that gave it an unmissable personality.

They walked to the main entrance all the while walking on the red carpet laid out for all the guests. Olivia could hear the voices inside and she realised the party was bigger than she thought it would be. She felt anxious but more than ever, this time, she was excited.

She gave their names to the women at front and were allowed inside. Olivia felt some heat creep upto her cheeks as she saw people noticing her presence. At first she brushed aside not realising it until Stacy pointed it out. She felt conscious and so put her eyes down, hoping that way she would feel like there were lesser people in the room.

They walked to the ballroom where the main party was being held. Olivia saw people dressed in their finest clothes and jewelry, with their best manners at display and felt a little out of place in the beginning but learnt not to care as they kept walking.

They reached the ballroom and joined their other colleagues. Olivia looked around subtly, wondering if he was here already.

 **FITZ**

Fitz was near the bar counter inside the ballroom talking to the man who was responsible for the party in Fitz's honor. He was chatting a few others simultaneously with a glass of scotch in his hands when he turned around to see her.

It's almost like his breath stopped for a second as he saw her look beautiful than ever, if that were possible. She looked taller than usual, the black dress hugged her body like second skin and Fitz licked his lips unknowingly as he saw himself unable to look away from those beautiful curves gracing her petite body. And then she turned, her back to him and he lost it. The top part of the dress was tied behind around her neck and then her back was uncovered, sending his senses into overdrive. Before the thoughts plagued him again he looked away, unable to get a grip on himself.

He was annoyed when he saw the men who were speaking to him before were in the same trance looking at Olivia as he was. He cleared his throat and had a irritated expression on his face as they brought themselves back to their conversations.

Fitz wondered what she was looking for as he noticed her scan the crowd again and again. Was she maybe, looking for him? He smiled at that thought. He kept the glass down on the bar counter and excused himself as he walked to his group of employees.

"Good evening Sir" Harrison said when he saw Fitz approach them.

Olivia instantly turned to look at him.

Fitz was dumbfounded to see her up close, she looked unbelievably beautiful. But at the fear of getting caught starting at her, he immediately looked away not giving her more a second of a glance as he spoke to them.

Olivia was disappointed that he didn't even look at her. Why did she even want him to look at her? She was the crazy one here, not him. She reminded herself.

Fitz spoke to them about a few things and told them to be safe and on their best behaviour. He looked at Olivia one last time before he walked away. He saw how her face fell when he looked away from her, and felt good and bad at the same time. Good that she too felt what he was going through, bad that he didn't know what to do about it.

The rest of the evening was filled with food, drinks and laughter. Olivia enjoyed the party. She was on her second cocktail when the asked people to pair up for a dance. Olivia immediately stood back knowing that she definitely didn't want to do this. Everybody around her paired up and moved to the center of the beautiful marble floor. She looked around at people and saw Fitz looking at her, with a hopeful glint in his eyes. He looked like he was pondering over something. She looked away unable to hold his heated gaze. She couldn't help but look at him again and that's when she gasped, he was walking, walking towards her. She saw if there was any girl in front of her, nope, it was just her. She wished it he wasn't going to come over for a dan-

"Would you like you dance with me, Olivia?" He asked. She couldn't believe her eyes. She could feel some eyes on her. She could feel a panic attack ready to burst open and she felt him say

"Hey, relax. It's just a dance. You can say no" he chuckled.

"No"she said and Fitz was surprised and disappointed.

"No, I mean, I don't want to say no" she clarified looking anywhere but him, because she realised the wetness creep between her legs and felt mortified and embarrassed as to why her body was behaving this way.

She took his hand and relaxed as he took her to the center of the room, looking only at her.

"You look stunning, by the way" he said and she blushed shyly. She felt at ease and she felt comfortable with him. She relaxed her body into him. She tried not to shiver when his hand touched her back gently, as if she were a delicate flower. They swayed with the music. There were way too many people on the floor to care about them, Olivia realised and felt better. She hated when people looked at her.

He twirled her once and she laughed, making him laugh too. She stood closer to him than before and he liked it. His grip on her waist tightened and she certainly didn't mind it.

The next time he twirled her, Olivia felt the knot of the dress loosen, and she panicked. She had a feeling about this, she had specifically told Stacy again and again to tie it tighter but Stacy said tighter would make it look awkward and now here she was minutes away from showing her breasts to two hundred people.

Fitz noticed the the fear on her face and asked her what happened. While she hesitated in the beginning she told him she needs to use the restroom. He was disappointed that he had to let go of her but nodded and off she went, that's when he saw, the knot at the back was above to open up any minute.

He walked fast behind her and called out to her. She faced him and prayed her dress doesnt give away.

" Olivia, your dress ...I mean the knot is almost open" he said awkwardly.

Olivia looked at him embarrassed and he realised she knew and that is why she wanted to use the restroom.

"Oh, you know. I'm so sorry for keeping you" he said and moved back.

"It's okay, Fitz" She said. Fitz loved it when she called him that.

"Do you need some help?" Okay that came out wrong. Fitz was mortified and immediately added "I mean I can send Stacy" he said. Olivia chuckled at his honest mistake and they both looked at the couples dancing and found her nowhere.

"No I'll be fine" she said.

"Okay. The restroom is across the hall I'm sorry, you saw the staircase when you entered right? Go up to the first floor, the first door to your left" he said. Olivia wondered how he knew. "I've been here a lot of times" he smiled and explained.

Olivia thanked him and now wondered how she would through the dancing people all the while worrying about how her dress may give away. At one point she even considered asking Fitz to tie it then and there but there were a lot of people and that would surely get noticed.

Fitz could see her dilemma and he finally said carefully "come with me".

Olivia trusted him as he told her to walk closely behind him. They made a quick walk across the room and Olivia was glad that Fitz was covering her if anything were to happen. The minute they were out of the room, there were alone. Not a soul here, everybody was inside. It was quiet.

They walked up the stairs and Fitz showed her the restroom.

Olivia walked inside and immediately adjusted her dress, smiling as she did so thinking about Fitz. It was sweet of him to accompany her, he didn't have to, but he did. She couldn't help but think about how they met and how they are now. She got lost in her thoughts until she heard a knock.

" Olivia, you okay in there?" Fitz asked.

Olivia realised he was still here. She naturally assumed he would go, but here he was. She didn't know why she felt touched by something as simple as this.

She opened the door to see him standing in front of her, with his arms crossed looking happy to see her. She saw how handsome he looked in the black suit that dressed his tall, broad frame perfectly. He cleared his throat and she blushed at being caught.

They stared each other before he broke the silence,

"Do you want to see something beautiful?" He asked and she said yes hesitantly, not understanding what he meant.

He walked ahead and asked her to follow. She couldn't help but notice the luxurious artefacts around the castle, the paintings, the drapes, just everything about this screamed royalty. They passed a huge room to reach the balcony. She winced as the cold air hit her.

He walked to the edge and looked back at her and she joined next to him.

They looked ahead and saw a beautiful lake ahead, the water shining because of the lamps around it, brining it alive. It looked absolutely peaceful.

"It's so beautiful" she said, unable to look away from it. The quiet, the atmosphere , the greenery ahead everything made the moment magical.

"Yes" he answered, looking ahead.

They stood there in silence as though speaking to each other without words. The tension was apparent, the air felt thick and heavy around them. Olivia fidgeted as she felt the same warm sensation pass through her body. Suddenly, the breeze played with her hair, which was now covering her face. Fitz turned to see her red lips parted as she struggled to brush her hair past her face.

He touched her cheek and separated the hair from her hair brining her beautiful face into view. She looked at him with the same passion that was threatening to burn his soul.

He moved closer to her and he felt her tilt her head to him. Still, he didn't want to initiate, he wasn't sure, so he stood there, looking at her. As if unable to take it anymore, she lifted her head more and joined her lips to his. Fitz's hands automatically went to her waist as he pulled her closer, holding her against his chest. She kissed him like she wanted to be kissed. The heat rose in her cheeks as she felt his tongue touch hers, quick, electric and delicious and then turned more firm and determined, curious to know what lay underneath. She felt her body melt into the tender ministrations of his mouth as he unleashed a paralyzing sweet assault on her. His skilled mouth, working its magic as she gave herself to him. She may have started it, but it took no time to show who was in control here.

They broke apart and looked at each other. Each afraid of what may happen next, but they saw relief and an unsatisfied need on each others' faces rather than regret or remorse.

Without saying a word, he took her hand and she let. They walked back to the ballroom, her hand still in his as they walked silently next to each other. Once infront of the ballroom, they looked ahead. Olivia spotted Stacy ahead in the room and told Fitz that she would go join her to which he nodded. They both were not ready to talk about what happened.

Stacy saw Olivia walking towards her. Olivia nervously smiled as Stacy handed her a cocktail. They drank silently for a few minutes.

"You do know he's married, right?" Stacy stated, as Olivia almost choked on her drink.

 **So what do you think of this chapter ?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Here's the next chapter!**

"I don't know what you're talking about" Olivia replied looking ahead. Where did this new confidence come from? She wondered. There was something in the way she said, that Stacy decided not to push the matter further.

Olivia's hands shivered, her lips quivered from what had just happened. Did she forget she had a boyfriend too? Why did she kiss him? Why? Just when her life wasn't complicated enough she made it worse. Maybe she kissed him to know what it felt like, to be with him, to kiss him, to feel him. Because over the past few days, she couldn't help but think about Fitz. She kissed him, because she wanted him out of her system, but here he is, threatening to break all the defenses she has carefully built over the years. She was silly to think the kiss would mean nothing, but it meant everything. He was so gentle with her, so considerate. She felt tingles all over her body when she thought back to how it felt to have him kiss her. Olivia took a deep breath and let it out slowly, she knew if he came to her another time, she would give herself to him without an ounce of doubt! See,that thought bothered her. It bothered her the depth of feelings that were coursing through her body right now.

Deep in thought, she took another sip of her drink and looked around hoping to see him.

Their eyes met briefly when she looked away, unable to control the emotions flooding inside her. She looked back to see that his eyes were still on her, there was a tender look in his eyes, as though understanding everything that she was going through, for he was going through something similar. He brushed the tip of his tongue over his upper lip reminding her of the small bite she gave him, making her look away embarrassed and blushing. He smiled and looked away at the turn of events.

Everything that he didn't want to happen, had happened today. He didn't fear getting close to Olivia, he feared about staying away from her. Now after that kiss, after this day, it was a mammoth task to stay away from her. Did he even want to stay away from her? _No_!

Fitz turned away from her as if to deal with his thoughts in private, just to himself. He didn't want her to see the struggle he was going through to keep it together. She had no idea about the effect she had on him. Her brown eyes, conveying a story every time he looked at them, the eyes he was addicted to now, the eyes that held so much pain, so much sadness that it scared him that he may end up hurting her.

He asked for another scotch and stared at the Golden liquid before taking a big sip and closed his eyes. It shouldn't have happened, he shouldn't have kissed her, because now, he wanted more.

Olivia walked away from the room to get some air, she would lose it if she looked at him another time. She walked out and sat on the staircase. The whole time Stacy's words repeated in her head. " _You do know that he's married,right?"_

A part of her didn't care if he was married, because right now she didn't want to think about Fitz, she wanted to think about herself. She hadn't lost control in a long time, yes she knew she had a drinking problem, a smoking problem, but this was different. She drank to forget things, to keep herself from destroying herself. As ironical as that sounded. But today, what she did, when she took a step forward and touched his lips with hers, it was a decision she took. She knew the consequences, she knew what she was doing, and she did it. Olivia hadn't done anything of that sort ever. She didn't do it on impulse, she thought about it and still went ahead. She kissed him because she wanted to. She thought about herself, she did it for herself. That is what astonished her.

It wasn't just the fact that she had kissed a man who belonged to someone else, she knew she had made a mistake. She considered herself dead on the inside since a long time and the fact that she look a leap of faith, a risk and did something she never thought she would do in her wildest dreams brought back the towering reality of her life. She felt human again. Somebody who can be happy, who can make mistakes, who can have dreams, who can hope. She had boxed herself for so long unable to bear the trauma of certain events in the past. She felt a sense of freedom, she hadn't felt in a long time. She wasn't panicking, she wasn't stressing, for the first time, she was thinking in a rational way, she was surprised. She was surprised that it took one kiss from a man to bring her back to life.

She felt footsteps towards her, she didn't even have to look up to see who it was, she knew it was him. It was weird she could already recognise his presence. She felt him sit next to her.

"I'm sorry, if I crossed a line" he said, slowly, looking down. Fitz has never ever apologised like this in his life, but when he saw her walk out of the room in a rush, he was scared whether she was alright. He debated whether it would be the right thing to do to go see her, he was scared if he was rough with her, he was scared that he might have already hurt her, but he had to see if she was alright and so he searched for her outside only to see her sitting on the stairs in deep thought. So he went and sat next to her, careful to maintain a decent distance this time.

"I crossed the line, not you" she said, smiling weirdly looking ahead.

He thought a lot before he could ask this.

"Do you regret it?" He asked.

"I don't know" she answered and he was disappointed, he felt crushed.

He got up before his emotions took the best of him. Before leaving he asked,

"Will you be alright?"

Olivia got up and walked to him. Fitz tried his best not to look at her swollen lips, inviting him yet again to kiss her senseless.

Olivia saw his eyes land on her lips and she felt shivers down her spine. If his one look could do this to her, she knew she was doomed. She saw the disappointment on his face, she knew he was worried if he had hurt her, so she said,

"Fitz, you didn't hurt me." She stated, looking at him.

"And that kiss, that kiss I don't regret." She said and walked away.

A small smile played on his lips while relief flooded his body. She knew what he was thinking, she knew he was worried about her. He saw her retreating figure as he felt new energy course through his body. Olivia Pope was going to be the death of him.

Olivia reached his hotel room at around 12AM. She had thought about their kiss the whole night and was exhausted both from overthinking and also moving around in those heels. She plucked them out of her feet and undressed and placed it neatly inside her closet. She removed her jewellery and her make up before she went to wash her face. As she looked at herself, she saw her lips were still a little swollen making her blush. She wished he could hold her again, she wished she could kiss him again. Annoyed at herself for thinking about it again, she closed her eyes and tried to forget what happened. She wanted to take a quick shower but was too tired so she wore a loose shirt and a pair of shorts and collapsed on the bed before setting her alarm. She fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.

This was probably one of the rarest of days where she hadn't used alcohol to forget something.

 **Fitz**

 **"** Fitz,its me"

Fitz groaned as he heard Damon banging on his suite door.

"What does he want now?" He mumbled as he opened the door.

"Why do you look like that?" Damon asked as he entered the room.

"This better be something important. It's fucking 3 AM in the morning" Fitz followed Damon as he sat on the couch.

"Awh, somebody didn't get laid" Damon said, mocking Fitz.

Fitz stared at Damon and clenched his teeth. Damon wanted to laugh but he knew he'd get punched so he shut up.

"What'sthe matter?" Fitz asked as he cooled down.

"How was the party?" He asked suggestively.

Fitz looked at him like he was out of his mind. Did he really show up at to his room at 3AM to ask about that stupid party?

"Aren't you supposed to be in London?" He asked ignoring his question.

"Yes. I'm supposed to leave in an hour." Damon said, annoyed that Fitz dodged his question.

As they sat in silence, Fitz finally gave up and confessed "I kissed her"

"That's horrible" Damon said.

"I mean she kissed me first and then I kissed her back" Fitz felt like a child caught stealing.

"That's even worse" Damon smirked.

Fitz rolled his eyes. Why did he think Damon would be of any help? Damon cared about Fitz and Fitz only. If anything threatens to disturbs even a strand of hair on Fitz's head, Damon will kill them before they could get within ten feet of Fitz.

"You know what? Just bang her, get her out of your system" Damon said as he got up and walked to where the scotch was to pour himself some. He was surprised when there wasn't any left. Fitz winced at his choice of words.

"Did you drink all of this?" Damon asked, shocked.

"Yes. I'll call for some, wait" he said and he picked up his cell.

"No, that is fine" Damon said still unable to believe the extent of feelings Fitz may have for this girl.

Fitz was struggling with his feelings. He was sick and tired of keeping it all inside, he needed an outlet. He thought he could tell Damon, but he was being irritating and judgemental and he just sighed, and put his ordeal to rest.

Damon sighed and sat down in front of him and looked at Fitz with concern.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you behaving like this?" He asked.

"I don't know" Fitz said as he texted his bodyguard outside to get some scotch for him.

"You like her?" Damon asked this time.

Fitz looked at Damon with a " _how dumb are you"_ face.

"Okay, you do, I know" Damon said with his hands up as if defending himself.

"You know this is not gonna end well, for you or for her" he added.

"You think I don't know that?" Fitz asked frustrated.

"What if she gets to know that whatever happened with her that night was because of you?" He asked, looking Fitz dead in the eye.

Fitz gave him a furious look, that managed to scare Damon a bit.

"What are the fuck are you saying?" He got up and asked.

"Those men who did those things to her were there that night because of you. You went there to collect weapons in the middle of a street. You could've asked them to deliver or something, but you called them there because you were reckless and drunk, you didn't show up on time and they decided to pass time and have some fun, and who did they find to do that?" Damon screamed it out all in one breath angering Fitz who punched him hard but yet he didn't stop.

"This is not some sappy love story that is brewing between you both, this is your guilt. You know it was your fault. You caused her the pain, that has been killing you ever since and you think, this, whatever that is you're doing is going to take all of her pain away? Is this some messed up way to get forgiveness ?" He asked as Fitz put his hand around Damon's neck. Fitz let go of him as he heard him gasp for air.

There it was, the truth. The truth he had been trying to forget, the truth he had been burying deep inside of him every time he looked at her.

" Fitz, you damn well know I don't care what happens to her. I will even kill her if it means protecting you. I even thought about it, if I just eliminate her, all our problems would go away."

Fitz gave him a cold stare.

"If you lay as much as a finger on her, I will not hesitate to snap your neck" Fitz said with an terrorising expression on his face.

Damon chuckled.

"What a story you told me!"

 _"I was waiting around for a pick up when I saw those men try to rape her and I shot them and saved her"_ Damon mimicked Fitz.

Fitz clenched his teeth as his secrets were coming out.

"It bugged me so much why you cared about her suddenly out of nowhere. So I did my digging and now I know, this is nothing but guilt." Damon said confidently looking into Fitz's eyes.

Fitz looked at Damon and tried not to punch him again in his stupid face. But what was it going to change? Nothing.

Damon saw the dejected look on Fitz's face and felt bad for him and so to cool down the situation he said,

"To me, it's not your fault. You didn't know she was going to be there. You didn't know those bastards would do shit like that..."

"Yeah, but if I had just reached there sooner..." Fitz sighed and looked away. He always felt guilty about that night, but ever he saw her again few weeks ago in that conference room when he was announced the CEO, he lost his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about her, about what he caused, about the trauma and scars she had to go through even after he shot those people. So he had made it his mission to protect her, but that was failing miserably now, because he knew, deep down he knew what he felt for her was not just guilt, he was developing some serious feelings for her. But if she were ever to know, that he was responsible for every nightmare, every drop of tear, she would walk away.

"You want to protect her, but again, you're putting her life in jeapordy. Those men you killed, you knew they were Remi's yet you acted all surprised when I informed you that last week. You know everything. You need to stay away from her. Day before's guy was harmless, I myself did a check on him."

"But you are going to cause her more harm than Remi"

Fitz hated every word that was coming out of Damon's mouth because he was right. He was right, he had to stay away from her. But could he? Especially after that kiss, how could he stay stay from her?

"I want you to leave." Fitz said as he slumped down on his bed.

"Don't drink yourself to death." Damon said as he left. Damon knew what he was doing was only going to help Fitz in the long run.

Fitz stared at the wall ahead as he felt himself fall into a spiral of thoughts again. Everybody saw him, knew him as a strong man, both physically and mentally, somebody who was cold, heartless and didn't care about anybody. But nobody knew the man inside, the one who was repressed by his father that made him resentful about life, the good man inside fighting to come out, but being desperately pushed down by those around him. When he was with Olivia, he didn't have to worry about that, he could show his feelings and not get judged, he could be himself, he could smile, he could laugh, he could eat ice cream. He felt like a child as he thought about himself. What he did was wrong, but he didn't have the strength to tell her that. There are times he wanted to tell her the truth but he couldn't. She trusted him, he knew that, deep down even if she didn't tell it out aloud , she trusted him and if she gets to know, he would lose her. Not like he could get her even now.

Damon was right, he had to stay away from her for.

With that thought, he tried to sleep but he was awake the whole time. Sleep didn't come to him, as he stared blankly at the ceiling.

 **Next morning -**

Stacy and Olivia went for a morning run around the hotel and went back to their respective rooms.

Olivia showered and dressed. She was in a better mood today, so she dressed carefully, paying attention to each and every detail. She wore a black pencil skirt and a V neck white full sleeve blouse that was tucked in. She parted her hair in the midline and tied it. She wore long earnings and a bracelet. She applied a lipstick which had a reddish hue to it, she applied more mascara than usual, and her eyeliner was on point. She looked more dressed than usual. To complete the look, she wore her favorite pair of black heels and took her necessities and left her room.

Her heart was beating so hard and fast, she worried if somebody heard it. She will see him today, she didn't know what to do, how to act. She thought it would be better if she behaved as though nothing happened between him. It was stupidity to even expect anything out of this. The kiss maybe the most fantastic one she's ever had, but he was married and she had Richard and just thinking about it gave her a headache.

Because she had breakfast in her room, she went directly to the room that had been converted into an office. . She saw him sitting behind those glass walls. He looked like he hadn't slept. His hair was slightly messy, his eyes looked sleepy yet he managed to look sexy. _Sexy, woah that is new. Where did that come from? She thought._

She stole a few glances at him throughout the day and was disappointed that he had not looked at her even once. Almost annoyed at the whole situation and her herself she walked out to smoke a cigarette.

She came back to see him standing near her cubicle with the others surrounding him. She instantly became scared, wondering if she missed something important. She ran and joined the group, others noticed but he still didn't, he just wouldn't look at her. That's it, it made Olivia mad.

"But sir, Olivia is supposed to accompany you" Stacy said brining back Olivia from her thoughts.

"That won't be necessary. Harrison will accompany me" Fitz said and walked away.

Stacy looked at him Fitz with an annoyed expression.

"It's like he's on his period" Stacy commented.

Olivia ignored that comment. She was beyond disappointed that he said no to her accompanying him to an important meeting today. She didn't have much work to do, other than take notes but still, it was something. He was avoiding her, there was no doubt.

Maybe he regretted what happened between them yesterday. He was married, surely he would regret it. It scared Olivia how she didn't bother about his marriage. What kind of a person was she to think romantically about a married man?

Again her thoughts were broken by Stacy, who asked Olivia if she wanted to go eat lunch with the others outside at a cafe nearby. Olivia didn't feel like and thankfully Stacy understood. Fitz and Olivia both were acting weird ever since she saw them enter the hall together yesterday.

Olivia went back to her room and sat on her bed, she ordered room service and ate her food trying not to think about Fitz.

She wanted to call Richard and speak to him, it had been a whole day since she spoke to him.

Completely forgetting about the time difference she called him and he picked up at the last ring.

"Can you stop calling me, I need time to process this." She heard him say in a rush and cut the call.

What? What the fuck was that?

Olivia called him again and this time he picked up and screamed into the phone "I need some time Madison, I know it's my baby too!"

Olivia's blood drained from her face. She felt like somebody had hit her with a thousand bricks. Her mouth opened in an O, she was hyperventilating, her palms turned sweaty, the phone dropped from her fingers onto the bed.

 _Is it what she thinks it is?_

She heard Richard scream into the phone, calling her name again and again. She cut the call and sat on the bed with her head in her hands. That's it, she was trying not cry, she was trying to figure out whatever life was throwing at her one at a time, but this, this she can't take.

She covered her mouth and cried. The one person, the only person she had ever trusted, the only man who loved her with all her flaws,all her dark days, the only man she gave herself to completely physically and emotionally, had betrayed her. She felt her heart break into a thousand pieces, as cliche as it sounds. Olivia always knew in the back of her head that Richard and her may leave each other, but not like this.

Not like this.

Her phone rang continuously, she knew it was Richard but she didn't care. She stared at the ceiling and let it ring. She couldn't care to listen to his voice after this.

She didn't realise when she fell asleep.

 **FITZ**

I came back after my last meeting to the office. She wasn't around and I ignored it. I had some files to look at, some signatures to sign and a presentation to prepare with my secretary.

I shifted to a boardroom to do my work to prevent myself from looking up again and again to see whether she was around.

Three hours passed when I came back to the office to have a chat about tomorrow with my employees,but she was no where to be seen. I looked at my watch and it was 6PM. _Where the hell was she?_

I tried not to worry, I tried not think about it.

"I see there are three people missing" I said.

Just when I said that, I saw Stacy and Huck walk in. They were coming back from a meeting. _Where the fuck is_ Olivia _?_

"Where is , I asked as calmly and formally as possible" Stacy looked at me for a second before she said,

"She should be here. Isn't she here?" She asked.

Nobody replied.

"Maybe she's in her room." She added, still looking at him suspiciously.

With no other choice I nodded and told them to not repeat the mistake as Olivia, and I tried to hurry with the briefing, while Olivia's thoughts plagued the back of my mind. Was she okay? Was she in danger? I had my security detail on her, she would be fine, I tried to tell myself but I just couldn't get a grip on myself. So I hurried through/ the thing and dismissed everybody and immediately rang the security head.

"Where is she?"

"In her room sir. She went to her room at 1PM and hasn't left the room"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes sir, we are seeing the cameras and our men are on the floor"

I didn't care about my decision to stay away from her. What the hell was she doing in her room for so long?!

I took the elevator to her floor and reached her door and knocked once, no reply. I rang the bell, no reply. I felt sick to my stomach and kept knocking and called out for her

" Olivia! Olivia!"

Olivia felt a distant voice call her. Only when she woke up she realized somebody was banging the door.

She realised it was Fitz and walked fast before he could break it.

Fitz saw the door open to reveal Olivia, who looked like she had woken up from her sleep. But her eyes looked red and moist, her hair was everywhere, her eyeliner drew sad lines on her face. She was crying. _Why was she crying ?_

"Are you alright?" He asked as he walked in and held her arms.

Olivia saw the concern and fear on his face.

Olivia tried her best not to cry, but she couldn't hold it in, she sobbed there standing in front of him.

It hurt to see her cry that way, he stepped closer and pulled her softly to his chest. Her arms rested on his shoulder as he held her.

He patted her back and wondered if he was the reason for all this.

 **Do you think Fitz is the reason for what Olivia went through that night? And what do you feel about Richard getting another woman pregnant?**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N : I want to thank all of you for embracing this story. I wish I could reply to each review but unfortunately I do not have time for it, for that I'm sorry. Thanks once again.**

Fitz stood with his back to the wall as Olivia sat on the bed looking down at the floor. Her eyes were red and puffy, her lips parted, her face had a sad, lost look that was making Fitz restless.

 _What happened ?_

This continued for about half an hour, the silence between them first awkward, then comforting. Olivia was so glad Fitz was here, she didn't know why, but just having him in the same room even without saying anything made her feel less lonely and broken.

Fitz sensed that whatever it is, she was definitely not in the right space of mind to chat with him about it. So he sat down on the chair next to her and leaned and brought his hands together, still looking at her.

Olivia looked up at him and it broke him to see her like this. She looked so hurt, so vulnerable, like one touch would make her crumble into pieces.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to." He assured her.

Olivia was relieved, she didn't exactly want to tell her boyfriend had impregnated another woman. She was still shocked, she was still reeling from that.

Her features relaxed and she looked a little better after he said that.

"Are you hungry ?" He asked trying to break the silence and also noticed that it was almost dinner time. She shook her head in a No but Fitz went ahead and ordered room service for her anyway.

Then he went and sat next to her on the bed. He turned to look at her only to see her rubbing circles on her palm. He could see that she was lost, she was in her own world, a world he desperately wanted to know.

After a few more minutes of silence, Fitz decided it was best to leave as he guessed she wanted to be alone. Just as he was about to leave the room service came. The food arrived and was placed on the small table in the room. Olivia didn't look at anything that was happening even once. Fitz was increasingly concerned but he didn't know how to approach or start a conversation about what was the reason behind all this. He sensed it was not about him but it angered him to wonder who made her cry this way.

"Hey, the food's here."

"Thanks" she replied.

"Will you be alright?" He asked, this time coming closer standing near her knees.

She looked up at him and he almost guessed she didn't want him to leave her alone but she said "I'll be fine. I'm so sorry to keep you here"

"Olivia -" he said as he kneeled down to be at her level.

Olivia was startled at first but then she saw him place his hands hesitantly on her thighs, making her feels so many things at once. At one point she was grieving about Richard and her relationship and on the other side her body was reacting to Fitz's touch.

"If you need anything, you call me" he said as he gave her his phone number. "I'm just a call away" he added, smiling softly. Olivia places her hand over his' and their eyes met for a brief second where they relieved the kiss that happened yesterday. Fitz looked at her lips for a second and immediately looked away cause they were too darn inviting.

Fitz left after speaking to her for a few more minutes reminding her to eat the food and take some rest. He left with an uneasy feeling, he wasn't entirely comfortable leaving her alone in the room. She seemed devastated and he was beyond curious to find out the reason. He was tempted to ask his men to find out, but this time he didn't want to spy on her like this. Sure he and men were tracking her movements but only from afar. They even had her whole history but he hadn't looked into that file, he didn't want to get to know her that way. Sigh. Maybe he was thinking about something long term with her, unknowingly, unconsciously Fitz already didn't want her to ever leave his life.

He cast his eyes down and brisk walked to the elevator that took him to his room.

Here, Olivia slowly woke up from her bed and walked to the bathroom. Without looking into the mirror she flashed some washed into her face. She stood there for a second with downcast eyes.

Was she hurt Richard did this ? Yes. Was she shocked, surprised and wanted to believe this was just a bad dream? Yes. But, more important this meant that she would be alone, all over again. Richard was the only person in life for a long time and now she lost him too. She would be alone, nobody in her life, nobody... Olivia could feel herself getting a panic attack at that thought. Yes, this was the main reason why she stayed with Richard even after everything that had happened before. She knew she'd turn insane if he left, so she held onto him, it was unfair but she was selfish for her life. Now, the reality dawned upon her that from now on it'll be her, fighting her own battles, nobody to fall back on, nobody to hide behind, nobody to listen, nobody to _love_ her. She hated for getting attached and dependant.

As much as she hated admitting it, Olivia needed him. But this, this was her own doing. She sighed as she made sense of things. She calmed herself down, took a shower and changed her clothes and went to bed. The bottle of wine was inviting and tempting but she didn't feel like it. She didn't want to drink this away, especially when she knew deep down that it would happen one day. Acceptance had become the routine now and surprisingly it was helping her. She accepted that she was scared to be alone, and somehow it all felt better.

 **Next morning**

Today was the conference they'd come for and so everybody were early at the office completing any last minute work. Olivia was double checking the files, Stacy was running around with files to get signatures from Fitz, it was frantic, but only in their heads, to any outsider it looked like a normally operating office.

Fitz was in his cabin making some calls to make sure everything was set. The conference would officially start today at the hotel. It would be followed by a cocktail party scheduled for tonight at the ballroom in the same hotel.

He finished his call and placed his phone on the table and leaned back on his chair closing his eyes. The fatigue was setting in, just when he thought he would pass out, he called for an espresso. He had to get through today with minimum mistakes.

He looked up to see Olivia deep in her work. Atleast she wasn't crying, he was grateful. Her face looked fallen though. He could see the dark circles that she didn't bother to cover with make up, her eyes still looked puffy, her face looked dull. He let out an exasperated breath not able to do anything. He wanted to walk upto her and ask her what happened? But he was scared, first because he maybe the reason, second he didn't want to scare her by intruding into her life and third, he was the last person someone would open up to. He couldn't deal with his own emotions let alone hers. With all the helpless feelings clouding his thoughts, he slumped back into the chair and waited for his coffee.

Olivia saw a notification appear on her phone, it was from an unsaved number. But when she saw the message, she knew who it was.

 _ **Fitz : Hey, you alright ?**_

She forgot to save his number last night when he gave it.

Olivia turned to look at him through the glass doors only to see him looking back at her. She smiled slightly and nodded. Fitz smiled back at her.

Olivia turned to her phone and saved his number under "FGIII"

She got back to her work feeling better after Fitz asked her how she was doing.

The day passed quickly and was tiresome for everybody. The conference was a success though, their presentation was the best. Fitz was satisfied and he was glad his team had worked well. He groaned thinking about the party tonight. Atleast he gets to see her again he assured himself.

Olivia reached back to her room and switched on her phone. She'd switched it off as she was constantly getting texts and calls from Richard and he was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. She was hurting and it would take time for her to accept what he did. Suddenly as those thoughts rushed into her head, she felt pathetic about herself and her life. The tears came back again refusing to stop. Olivia felt dejected and utterly stressed that she couldn't ignore her thoughts, the voices in head reminding her how exhaustively useless her life was. Before she could go back into that sinking dark hole, she looked for the mini bar and downed two shots of vodka. The liquid burned her throat and hit her head hard, but that's what she needed right now. Anything to get her out of thinking about Richard and his betrayal. Feeling slightly better as she held on to the glass wondering whether a third shot was needed, she took it anyway.

She then undressed and stepped into the shower and let the water wash down her thoughts and insecurities. She stood there under the cascade of hot water, frozen in place unable to get a grip on herself and her life. She felt truly miserable and more than anything lonely. She dreaded going back to the US. She'd have to live alone again, she had nobody. She didn't even have one person to have a decent conversation with. The thought of living alone made her feel anxious and paranoid suddenly. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on the wall. She felt the effect of the alcohol kick in. The alcohol, spiraling thoughts lead to an imbalance that almost made her pass out and fall down, but she held onto a handle and jerked up to stay alert. She turned off the shower and stood for a minute holding the handle. She then wrapped herself in a towel and walked out and placed her hand over her face realizing what could've happened.

She heard her cell ring distracting her, she ignored it and didn't even bother looking at it thinking it might be Richard. Rage consumed her all of a sudden and she threw a vase at a wall and saw it break down, symbolically like her heart. She was acting out, she was being irrational, she was being paranoid, she was being everything she'd feared she'd be.

Olivia didn't realize that she was passed out on the bed when she woke up hearing someone bang at her door. She looked to see it was Stacy all dressed up. Fuck! How long was she out for ? Apparently 3 hours when she checked her phone. She opened the door anticipating Stacy to scream at her.

"Olivia, what the hell?" Stacy screamed.

"I fell asleep. I'm sorry." She replied.

"What the fuck?"

"Okay whatever ! Now get ready fast!" She said as she walked in and tried to help with her things as she opened her closet to find her something to wear.

"We are supposed to be down in 15mins Olivia!" She said exasperated at Olivia's careless attitude.

"What if I don't want to go?" Olivia asked looking down.

"Look I know there's something going on and you look like you've been crying all day, but I'm sorry I do not have the time to pacify you right now. You need to put something on and we gotta go and it's compulsory honey" she said all in one breath sarcastically.

Stacy was tired from the work all day and she was just not in the mood for Olivia's mood swings today.

"Alright!" Olivia said frustrated as she started to get ready.

Stacy went through her closet to find her clothes which Olivia didn't like but she had no choice right now. She had to get ready soon. Stacy found a forest green body hugging dress with a deep V in the front. It was stunning and she instantly held it up to Olivia.

"No no no, that's too deep" Olivia remarked.

"Then why did you buy it?" Stacy was pissed and Olivia was in no mood to push it. She sighed and continued to do her hair and make up as quickly as possible.

"It's the only one that doesn't have any wrinkles or creases, Olivia. There's going to an ocean of people, nobody will care" she said as she laid out of the dress on her bed.

Olivia left her hair open, her make up was subtle and rushed but it didn't look that bad. She applied brown lipstick which had a tint of red. She wore the dress with the help of Stacy and she had to admit that she looked good but was still slightly uncomfortable about the amount of cleavage that was visible. Not obscene, but Olivia wasn't used to wearing such a low neck dress, she didn't have time to care about all that now, so she ignored it. After wearing her heels and applying some perfume they were done in a record 15mins and rushed down together.

Olivia couldn't help but feel shy and exposed because she could feel many eyes on her as they reached the 15th floor. The other employees too eyed her with surprise and complimented both the ladies. Olivia felt awkward but she let it pass, if she has to get through today then she has to be confident and ignore the looks.

Olivia walked into the gala to see that Fitz was talking to someone. His back was to her. The place had just started to fill up, so there were not many people there. She walked to where Stacy was tending but not before getting a drink from the bar.

"I'm sorry. I was in a mood" Olivia said as she could still sense that Stacy was annoyed.

Stacy sighed and said "It's okay. I'm sorry if I was rude earlier" Olivia just smiled.

"So, what happened?" Stacy asked.

"Richard and I broke up" Olivia said as though she was itching to tell someone the ordeal that she was going through.

"What!? Oh, Olivia, I'm so sorry" Stacy turned to face her suddenly feeling terrible at herself for being mean to Olivia and assuming stuff on her own.

Olivia didn't want to tell about Richard getting another woman pregnant.

Olivia just shrugged her shoulders in response. "You really did love him, didn't you?" Stacy asked as she placed her hand on Olivia's back as if to pacify her.

Olivia didn't say anything. Richard truly was the only man in her life till now. She didn't want to burst into tears so she asked Stacy to stop taking about it and Stacy understood.

Olivia took a sip from her drink and she saw Fitz turn to face her and he froze. His eyes roamed around her body in an instant and she already felt flushed. She didn't know what was happening. She just broke up with her boyfriend but one look from Fitz made her want to forget everything and be his. God, she hated this. This attraction to Fitz. It was consuming her, making her numb.

The alcohol, the rage, anger, hurt, pain clouded her and so she decided, once and for all. Let the fire burn.

Fitz tried not to make the bulge in his pants evident which was mercilessly given by Olivia. She looked beyond gorgeous today, the dress hugging her in all the right places, her tantalizing lips in the most beautiful shade of red and the swell of her breasts that he tried his best to not look at. He felt annoyed at first because he saw that every man in the room was looking at her and it pissed him off to no extent. Ever since he laid eyes on her today, his head was filled with explicit images that he desperately tried to ignore but this woman, was literally driving him to the crashing point. She had absolutely no idea what she did to him. All these days he controlled, today he's afraid he might let his actions run loose.

He was atleast glad that she didn't look sad like yesterday, but the drinking he was a little worried. She was on her third drink he noticed and the party had just begun. He didn't want to judge, but he was worried. He let it pass for now.

He looked for her only to see her looking back at him. Olivia looked at him looking handsome as ever in his black suit that dressed his tall frame majestically.

He smiled at her and Olivia could feel the tension between them. She knew he wanted her and she too wanted him. She exhaled deeply and smiled back at him.

After about an hour later the place was packed. Fitz was extremely busy he had individually met almost a hundred people. He was getting tired, the place felt suffocating and he needed some air. He couldn't keep a track on Olivia since he was so so busy. But when he turned to look for her, she was dancing with Harrison. Harrison's hand was on her waist and they were dancing very close. She was laughing at whatever he was saying, her eyes looked drowsy. She was drunk.

God knows what striked him, anger boiled within to see another man touch her. He strode over to them.

"Harrison, you must be meeting clients" he said glaring at immediately left Olivia and walked away. Olivia looked away from Fitz because she knew if she looked at him now, she would end up kissing him in the middle of the ball.

Fitz took her hand and walked towards the pulled her inside and locked the door. He walked away from her and calmed himself. He felt terrible for dragging her like that. He seriously needs to control his anger, he thought.

" Olivia I'm sor-" he said as he turned but he felt her grab his face and kiss him like it was the only thing that mattered.

He was surprised for a second, but he immediately took over and he snaked his arm around her waist and pushed her to himself and he thrust his tongue inside her mouth. She obediently opened and his tongue traced the velvety confines of her mouth. His hands gripped her waist tightly he was sure he left marks but he couldn't stop himself. Olivia's hands were in his hair as she pushed him closer to herself. He lifted her and placed her on the sink and stood between her parted legs as he continued to kiss her. They broke apart and he placed kisses along her neck driving Olivia crazy. He found her spot when she moaned loudly making him chuckle. He came up again to kiss her again.

That's when he felt something wet rubbing against his cheeks. He parted from her and held her face in his arms and saw that she was crying.

Fear gripped him immediately if he'd done something gravely wrong. But he was proved wrong when Olivia threw her arms around him and sobbed uncontrollably into his chest. He instantly softened and hugged her back tightly. He patted her head with one hand as he said nothing.

They stayed like that for god knows how long. Fitz kissed the top of her head as she looked upto him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry for ruining it" she said as she looked down.

Fitz smiled at her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips reassuring her.

She leaned into his chest again. Fitz felt the love that filled his chest for this woman. God damn! He had fallen hard. And he knew, at this moment, that he was never ever going to leave her, no matter what.

Olivia felt surprisingly better after having cried into his chest. She felt bad that she just unleashed her pain like that onto him, but she felt so much more better.

"Let's get you out of here" he said as he looked up at her, cupping her face.

Olivia got down from the sink, they entwined their hands together and walked out of the restroom. Fitz made sure nobody saw him as he signaled one of his men to clear the back exit so he could leave.

They left together and went to her room. Fitz badly wanted to stay with her tonight, but obviously he didn't say anything. She opened the door to her room and he followed. She removed her heels and turned around to face him. She walked closer and looked down as she said.

"Can you stay here...tonight...please" she asked with fresh tears in her eyes. She was scared to look up at him. Fitz lifted her chin and made her look at him.

"Yes"

Fitz knew something had happened and she was upset and was lonely, scared and he was glad that she asked him to stay. It filled him with happiness that she trusted him, but he also dreaded that fact that he wasn't entirely open with her. He ignored those thoughts for now as he saw Olivia emerge from the bathroom after changing into a loose t shirt that reached just her upper thigh. Fitz instantly imagined what it would feel to have her legs around his waist and then he brushed off his thoughts. She was still hurt, she wanted him to be there for her emotionally and his stupid head was coming up with such thoughts!

Olivia saw Fitz's eyes turn dark and his lips part. She smiled knowingly.

"You trying to kill me" he joked as he moved closer to her and kissed her once again, this time slowly, gently taking her into his mouth. Exploring, marking everything as his. Olivia melted into him. Every time Fitz missed her, she felt she was in another world. She already loved being in his arms, liked the things his tongue did to her, liked the way he kissed her, liked that he was always there for her.

After removing his clothes, Fitz slid into the bed in just his boxers making it very difficult for Olivia to focus on anything else. She'd seen him before in the gym, but having him this up close was clouding her senses. His rock hard abs and those tats covering him made him so unbelievably sexy. She desperately ignored her thoughts and got into bed with him. She slept with her back to his chest as he pulled her closer to himself and placed his head in the crook of her neck and held her waist. This was pure bliss. He could get used to this.

And Olivia, finally felt at home.

 **Does Olivia really care about Fitz or is afraid of being lonely?**


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N : Yes, it is a sad, painful, depressing story. I wanted to write a story about two people who overcome their personal fears and challenges in life to try and find meaning and solace with each other. It's not only Olivia's who is hurting in this story, Fitz is too. That will be covered in the later chapters. The Olivia and Fitz in this story are NOT AT ALL like the characters on the show or like we've imagined. I just wanted to tell this, because someone said Olivia and Fitz in this story just don't feel right. I respect your opinion.**_

 _ **Also, I'm going to change the category from T to M,as there will mature scenes from here on. I will change the categories this weekend.**_

 _ **Sorry for any errors.**_

 _ **Here we go,**_

"Hey, sweetheart" Fitz whispered into the phone.

"Daddy you didn't call me today!"

"I know sweetheart, I'm sorry. Daddy got a little busy today. He's very sorry, okay?"

"Hmmpf" he heard her say as he chuckled.

"What are you doing up so late? it's way past your bed time"

"I missed you" she said sadly and Fitz literally felt like somebody had crushed his heart.

"Awww, I miss you too Cara. Another three days and I'll be home! I promise you for one whole week I'll do whatever you say, Alright?"

"Yesssss!" She screamed happily and Fitz felt the sudden urge to see Cara. He missed her so much.

"Okay daddy it's late I need to sleep. Bye. Good night. I love you" She chirped and Fitz smiled.

"I love you too,sweetheart. Sleep well" he replied.

He smiled at his phone wallpaper which was a picture of him and Cara on her first day of school. Gosh they grow up so soon! He thought.

He turned around to see Olivia awake and sitting on the bed studying him curiously.

"Cara's my daughter. She's 6" he said as he smiled.

"I guessed" she replied back smiling.

He sat on the bed and moved closer to her.

"Not getting sleep?"

"Nope" she answered.

"Need a drink?" He asked.

"Yes please" Olivia replied.

"There's only wine" she said as he got up.

"No problem" he said and got the bottle of wine and two glasses. He poured the wine and gave one to her.

"Are you feeling hungry?" He asked, cause he was sure she hadn't eaten anything. And he hadn't too.

"Actually, yes" Olivia replied cutely.

Fitz chuckled as he called room service. It was 2AM but he hoped something could be arranged for him.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Fries and dessert" she answered at once. Fitz was amused and laughed at her answer.

He placed the order and sat back on the bed. He knew something was troubling her and that's why she couldn't sleep.

"Richard and I broke up" she said, looking at her hands.

No matter how ecstatic he was he was also pissed at that asshole for causing her so much pain. He didn't say anything as he felt she had more to say.

"He cheated on me with someone else and got her pregnant" she said as she put her head low. _Oh_ _god, he thought!_

Fitz moved closer and enveloped her in a hug.

"He's an asshole who didn't see you for who you are. Strong and beautiful." He said as he patted her back.

"Oh, I'm not strong" she chuckled.

Fitz looked at her funny.

"What?" She asked smiling.

"I'm not strong. I'm a pathetic person who is more worried about being lonely because I'm a burden to people, I'm dependant on them, I bring nothing, I'm miserable and I make everyone around me miserable. No wonder they all leave" she said.

Fitz looked at her shocked. He cupped her face. "I don't know why you think about yourself that way, but you're not pathetic Olivia. You are the most beautiful woman I have laid eyes on, you're stronger and braver than you think you are and you deserve the best, no matter what. Anybody would be lucky to have you in their life, I wish you'd come into my life years before because I would've made you mine in an instant" he said all in one breath.

Olivia was lost in his words. He was so... _sincere._

"What happened to you in that alley that night shouldn't destroy you and it didn't. You're alive and healthy and doing well professionally. You're not pathetic and you're not miserable. You're just scared." He said as he kissed her on her lips.

"Talk to me" he urged when she didn't reply.

"I should be feeling bad about Richard and I being over but I can't help but feel anxious about how will I live alone, now?"

"You're not alone"

"Fitz you have a wife and a child" she snapped.

"Why are you scared to be alone?" He asked.

"Because I've always been alone. My entire life. And it wasn't great" she said and went back to sleep facing away from him.

He realised he felt sad.

"Fitz, it's fine. You're just looking out for me. There are things you don't know about me and I don't have the strength to share them with you now, so can you just hold me. Please?" She asked turning around to face him.

He slid into the bed and pulled the covers over them as she snuggled into his chest and his hands held her protectively.

"You saved me, Olivia. Whether you know it or not" he whispered as he saw Olivia almost asleep.

Olivia woke up to to find herself snuggled into Fitz and his hand was tightly around her waist. She blushed looking at him. His hair was messy, his nostrils slightly flaring...she admired him and wondered how in the world did they end up at this place in their lives. But now that she thinks back to things, Fitz was always, miraculously always there for her during the worst times of her life. She probably would've died without him. What game was fate playing with her? The universe finally sent a man that Olivia truly trusts and cares for, but he cannot be her's for he already belongs to someone else. Guilt filled her heart as she thought about his wife and how she was ruining his marriage. He had a child, whom he loves very much, she felt terrible for putting him in this position.

Olivia pulled away from him, causing Fitz to tighten his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He opened his eyes to see her deep in thought.

"What are you thinking?" He smiled and asked.

"Nothing" she said biting her lip.

Fitz hadn't seen something more innocent and sexy at the same time. He immediately claimed her lips as he got on top of her, careful not to let his entire body weight on her. Olivia wrapped her hands around his naked back and explored the dimples on his back. Olivia gasped when she felt his hard member between her legs. She pushed herself forward to feel more of him eliciting a groan from him. He broke apart and looked into her eyes. As much as he wanted to take her right then and there, this was not the right away or the right time. So, he decided to do something else in the meanwhile.

He kept looking at her as his fingers trailed down her breasts, her stomach and reached the hem of the shirt which now lay dangerously close to her core. He looked at her as if asking whether she wanted this and all she did was kiss him again. Motivated, Fitz lifted her shirt up, making Olivia squirm. Hoping to meet more fabric, his eyes widened and he smirked to see she wore no panties. She blushed and bit her lip again in embarrassment causing him to kiss her again. He ran his thumb over her clit causing Olivia to gasp and hold onto his shoulders.

"Baby, look at me" he said so softly.

Olivia opened her eyes and looked at him. Her body felt hot, she hadn't been intimate with anyone in a long time. But just the intensity with which Fitz was looking at her could make her come undone any minute.

He ran his fingers down her folds and groaned when he realised how wet she was. She was practically dripping. He kissed her passionately once again, driving his tongue into her mouth and at the same time he inserted a finger into her, his mouth absorbing the moans leaving her mouth.

He kissed her as his fingers made love to her. Olivia felt like she was in a trance. His thumb rubbed her clit as his two fingers fucked her slowly in the beginning frustrating her, causing Fitz to chuckle.

"Fitz, please, faster" she said and Fitz did just what she wanted.

He looked into her eyes as his fingers thrust into her repeatedly causing Olivia to close her eyes and she arched her head back as she felt she was close. He rubbed her clit fast, mercilessly.

"Let go, Livvie" he whispered into her ear, biting her ear lobe. Her grip over his shoulders tightened, she opened her eyes to look at him and that's it, her body lifted from the bed, her eyes closed momentarily as she allowed the wave of pleasure and satisfaction wash over as she released with a loud moan.

Fitz looked up at her dreamily as she lay there completely spent, her face flushed. That was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen and he wanted to remember it always. Olivia opened her eyes to see him and immediately felt shy. But she leaned forward to kiss him, almost like thanking him for making her feel so good.

They goofed around on the bed for a while before Olivia woke up and ran to the bathroom before Fitz caught hold of her again and pulled her back. She giggled as she brushed her teeth and was looking at herself in the mirror. No dark circles, her face looked full, it looked relaxed and it felt nice to look at herself and not feel miserable.

She saw a shirtless Fitz stand behind her and grab a fresh tooth brush from the counter. Olivia looked at him annoyed.

"What?" He asked teasingly.

"I need to take a shower, you have to go" she said talking to his reflection.

"Go take a shower then" he winked.

Olivia rolled her eyes and turned around to face him. She stood there with her arms crossed staring at him with fake anger.

"Okay okay I'm gonna leave.I'll go freshen up in my room. I have two meetings, after that I'm free" he said as he leaned to come closer to her, causing her back to touch the counter. God she can never understand the effect of this man on her, he could say the most basic thing and she would be dripping wet for him, like right now.

He gave her a gentle kiss on her lips and left the bathroom to wear his clothes. Olivia followed and watched as he wore his clothes, he didn't bother tying the top three buttons on his shirt giving a tempting glance of his rich hard chest, making him look incredibly sexy.

"See anything you like?"he smirked.

Olivia blushed at having been caught.

He wore his shoes and then his coat and walked towards her.

"I don't want to go"

"Don't go then"

"I have a lot of meetings" he said as he looked down.

"I have a day off, I thought you too won't have anything..."

"Yeah, but the boss is always working" he said as his hands found her waist again and tightened his grip. He leaned into her and kissed her softly.

"I have a surprise for you actually" he said.

"Today, 6pm." He whispered into her ear.

"What surprise?" Olivia giggled.

Fitz looked at her like "really?"

"I gotta go now" he said as he pecked her on the cheek and left. Olivia smiled as she saw his retreating figure. Why didn't Fitz come into her life before? I mean he did save her a year ago, but why didn't she meet him before all that? Before Richard? Before everything. Maybe he wouldn't have been married if she'd met him earlier, she sighed. She was not at all thinking about his marriage because she would really lose her mind if she thought so far. She had no idea what was going on between them, but Olivia realised she liked him way too much. Sigh. Life gave her the best at the worst possible time in the worst possible situation.

 **LONDON**

Damon walked into the underground party. He and his men navigated to the back of the place where actual business was about to happen. Drugs and alcohol were being passed around like candy and there wasn't a single person who looked like they hadn't done atleast a line of coke. Name a drug and it was here tonight. The defeating music, the sweating bodies, the right security around made it an exclusive and an expensive party. After all, Damon was here to meet the man behind it all.

"Raphael" he greeted.

"Damon, my man" said Raphael as he got up from the sofa to give Damon a side hug.

"It's been a long time eh" he said, his French accent very obvious.

"Yeah."

"Baby, here you are-" Damon heard a familiar voice behind causing him to turn around.

 _This bitch._

"Mellie, what are you doing here?" Damon asked clutching her arm causing her to yelp.

Raphael came to Mellie's defence but Damon showed him a finger reminding him to stay out of his business. Raphael clenched his teeth at the insult but kept quiet. Damon was Fitz's right hand, and he didn't want to ruffle any more feathers.

Damon dragged Mellie to a corner and let go of her.

"You left Cara alone?"

"I'm here only for today, I'll leave tomorrow morning" she replied, annoyed. "Of course you'd be here" he said looking around at people.

"Nothing is going to happen in a day" she remarked unbothered.

"Does Fitz know?" He asked carefully. He obviously doesn't, because if he knew,Mellie wouldn't be in London for a fucking drug party.

"No and you better not tell him, otherwise I have a lot to tell, remember" she said as she seductively smiled at him. Mellie moved closer to him and whispered against his lips "Don't you miss me Damon?" She said and walked away smirking. _Men._

Damon rolled his eyes and went back to meet Raphael.

"Damn, doesn't Fitz fuck her right? She's on every other man's arm" Raphael joked. _Doesn't fuck her at all, Damon thought._

Damon glared at him causing him to turn serious.

"So, let me get to the point-" Damon spoke to Raphael about an important matter.

 **Back in Paris-**

Olivia came back to her room after shopping around the hotel. She bought two dresses. One was an off shoulder deep red dress that reached her knee and clung to her body and the other was a beautiful strapless cream white satin dress with a high split in the front. She fell in love with it the minute she wore it and couldn't help but buy it. The bodice gave her breasts a generous lift as the gown tapered below it.

Just when she was freshening up, her phone chimed. She thought it maybe Fitz and opened her phone excited but she saw a message from Stacy.

 _ **Stacy : Hey, do you want to go to the spa? Apparently it's complimentary since we're booked under Grant.**_

Olivia thought about it, spa was a good idea.

 _ **Olivia**_ _ **: Yes, sounds good.**_

 _ **Stacy : alright then, I'll book two appointments for 3:00 PM?**_

 _ **Olivia**_ _ **: Okay. Thanks.**_

 _ **Stacy : No problem, Liv.**_

Olivia smiled at the nickname everyone gives her. Liv. She remembers Fitz calling her Livvie yesterday and the memory makes her blush and wet at the same time. This man was going to be the death of her.

She had until 2 hours for her spa appointment so she changed into comfortable clothes and switched on the tv and found a French movie that looked nice. She opened a bag of chips she bought and watched the movie intently.

At 2:45 PM Olivia rushed out to meet Stacy at the spa with her necessities. She was excited to be honest, her body could really use some pampering, she thought.

After a relaxing and refreshing spa treatment that Olivia and Stacy enjoyed, they were both hungry and decided to go to a nearby cafe to eat something. After they filled their stomach, they went to a salon to get manicures and pedicures. Olivia was totally in the mood for self care today, she didn't know how and why but she was enjoying it. She also got her hair done and it looked really pretty.

Stacy caught Olivia admiring herself in the mirror and she was curious about how Olivia was so fine after a break up with her long time boyfriend. She couldn't help but wonder what the hell was the nature of relationship between Fitz and Olivia, because clearly he's the reason for that smile.

Olivia got back to her room after the Salon session. She checked her phone to see for any message from Fitz, there wasn't any and she was slightly disappointed. It was 6PM. She ignored it and started checking her inbox which had an inflow of messages from Richard. Taking a deep breath she opened his messages.

 _ **"**_ _**Olivia**_ _ **please, pick up the phone, let me explain!"**_

 _ **"**_ _**Olivia**_ _ **please I'm sorry baby, please pick up the phone"**_

 _ **"Baby please"**_

 _ **"**_ _ **Olivia**_ _ **pick up the damn phone! You can't keep running! I know I screwed up, I just want to talk to you,**_ _ **Olivia**_ _ **."**_

 _ **"I know I hurt you, but I want you to know that I'll always love you. I never ever wanted us to be over, especially this way, but**_ _ **Olivia**_ _ **please, everything between us was real. I would never fake my emotions for you. You were the first woman I fell in love with.I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry."**_

 _ **"I'm packing up my stuff and leaving the apartment"**_

 _ **"I hope you're alright. Please don't do something stupid, I won't be able to forgive myself ever if anything happens to you"**_

Except it has already happened, she smirked, with tears in her eyes.

She looked away and contemplated her next decision. Gathering strength, she called Richard.

He picked it up on the first ring. Olivia didn't say anything.

" Olivia..." he said weakly. The guilt was obvious in his voice.

"I'm the worst, I know you hate me. I betrayed you, I'm so sorry"

"How long?" She asked, between sobs. She wanted to know since how long he'd been cheating behind her back.

"6 months" he replied with a sigh.

"When were were you planning to tell me?" She asked sarcastically. "Were you using me as your side piece? Because I'm hurt about the fact that you treated me like everybody else before, like I didn't matter, like I was a thing that could be played, used, abused, replaced. This is what hurt me, I don't care if you want to break up with me or you want to leave me, you used me."

"I never used you. I was there for you always, during your every break down, the days you never slept because of your nightmares, I was there for you when you overdosed and ended up in the hospital, when you drank yourself to death...do you even realise the effect all of that had on me? To constantly see the woman I love try to destroy her life at every opportunity. I was there for you when you were depressed, sad, lonely, happy, moody, everything Olivia...but I couldn't do it anymore...nor did I have the strength to leave you...because I was afraid you would harm yourself..."

Olivia listened to the pain in Richard's voice. She knew their relationship was never fair to him. But only now did she realise how her behaviour and her sadness had inflicted such pain on Richard. She felt guilty immediately. She ruined so many years of his life.

"I don't regret us, never. You were one of the best things that happened to me, and I just want you to know that you're beautiful, you're smart, you're stronger than you think you are, so please, Olivia for once in your life give yourself some credit, be happy, let people get to know you, embrace others and open upto life, it has a lot of good shit to offer. Yes, everything till now was fucked up and but it doesn't have to be that way before. Please, promise me you'll be fine.."

Olivia sighed and sobbed into the phone as Richard listened. She knew this was it and she just wanted one last time to cry, to show him that he mattered to her, he was her friend above everything, that's how they'd even started dating. He was right, if he wasn't in her life she would've ended up dead or drunk or an addict.

"I'll be fine, Richard. Goodbye" she said softly, sounding better. She didn't want to hate him, she wanted to remember them ending on good terms. She was glad she didn't have this conversation in person, she wouldn't be able to handle it. She's thankful it's over phone, no matter how uncivil. There wasn't anything wrong in what Richard said. She let life get to her, she was negative, pessimistic, never hoped for anything, always paranoid, she let circumstances during her earlier days get to her and became a bitter, bitter person. She thought she was coping, but truly she was destroying herself all along.

Sure life wasn't rosy, it hadn't been easy, she should've been appreciative of every little thing, but she only focused on the hard things, what she didn't have, like a mother or a father, or family of any sort.

Olivia poured herself a drink and walked to the balcony as she finally confronted her past, she let those desperately buried memories come to surface to confront them once and for all. She'd let her demons destroy so much of her that she had forgotten what it felt to feel alive. She couldn't lose herself anymore, she didn't want to be weak anymore, so she closed her eyes and started at the very beginning.

 _I **wanted to cover Olivia's past, but this chapter already has a lot going on,so you will read about it in the next chapter.**_

 _ **Olivia and Fitz had a steamy session didn't they?lol. Also, what do you think about Richard's honesty? Although, he gives a weak reason for cheating, do you think he's right to believe that Olivia never contributed much to their relationship.**_

 _ **And Mellie is back! LOL.**_

 _ **Once again, thank you to all the readers and amazing reviews on my last chapter. This story is very close to my heart and I honestly enjoy writing it so thank you for reading it!**_


	16. NOTICE

Update : 18 March 2019

I'm in my final year of medicine and it is very hectic right now so I have decided to put the story on hold for now until further notice. I hope you guys understand.

I will be back and complete the story, there's no doubt about that.

I have loved writing the story and loved the response it has got and I will forever be grateful to all my readers. Hang on, guys.

Love,

Likitha


End file.
